A search is planned for the New Zealand storm petrel after confirmation the bird, supposedly extinct for the past 150 years, is still alive.
DNA testing has confirmed that birds discovered off the Hauraki Gulf since 2003, are indeed New Zealand storm petrels.
A team of enthusiasts has been granted $20,000 by the Birdlife International organisation to find out more about the bird.
The Department of Conservation says it's not known how many of the birds are still alive.
