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Using data from 396 breeding attempts over an 8‐year period, we investigated age‐ and stage‐specific survival rates and their modifying factors in a closed island population of the New Zealand stitchbird (or hihi, Notiomystis cincta Du Bus).

Survival probability generally increased over time; however, at each life‐history transition, survival in the new stage started lower than at the end of the previous stage, creating a ‘saw‐tooth’ function of age‐related survival.

The probability of an egg hatching was low (0·73 ± 0·01): most likely a consequence of genetic bottlenecks previously endured by this population. There was strong support for a positive relationship between hatching rate and the subsequent survival of the female parent, and hatching success declining for females > 4 years old.

Nestling survival probability increased as a function of brood size and days since hatching, and decreased relative to …