With only a small population surviving on Little Barrier Island, the stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta) became extinct on the mainland of New Zealand by 1885. Starting in the 1995, the New Zealand Wildlife Service (now Department of Conservation) translocated numbers of individuals from Hauturu (Little Barrier Island) to other island sanctuaries to create separate populations. These islands were part of New Zealand's network of offshore reserves which have been cleared of introduced species and which protect other rare species including the Kakapo and Takahe.

Currently the world population has improved to an estimated 4,500, moving from endangered to a current status of vulnerable. The stitchbird survives on Hauturu, Kapiti Island, Tiritiri Matangi Island, Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua, the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and the Waitakere Ranges.