More than 250 kiwi have returned to the hills around Wellington, New Zealand, after an absence of about 150 years, Mongabay and the National Indigenous Times reported.

The birds were brought back through a community and iwi-led conservation project. Years of predator control made the hills safe for the flightless birds again.

Kiwi are New Zealand’s national bird and remain endangered. The project is one of the country’s biggest urban wildlife comebacks.

AP News reported on the citizen campaign earlier this year. Volunteers trapped predators and monitored nesting sites to prepare the habitat.

The birds are now breeding in the wild around the capital. Hearing kiwi calls near the city was unthinkable a decade ago.

Conservationists call it a landmark success. The project shows what sustained community action can achieve for endangered wildlife.

Stoats, rats and possums had wiped out the birds long ago. Trapping networks now protect thousands of hectares around the capital.