Birds had a vital place in traditional Māori life, providing food, and feathers for adornment and cloaks. Their habits were closely observed, and were a rich source of metaphor and poetry. Birds’ behaviour was used to predict the weather, and sometimes the future.

Birds had a vital place in traditional Māori life, providing food, and feathers for adornment and cloaks. Their habits were closely observed, and were a rich source of metaphor and poetry. Birds’ behaviour was used to predict the weather, and sometimes the future. In traditional Māori thought, many birds were seen as chiefly.

This is the list of the birds of New Zealand. The common name of the bird in New Zealand English is given first, and its Māori-language name, if different, is also noted. The North Island and South Island are the two largest islands of New Zealand .

The weka, also known as the Māori hen [2] or woodhen (Gallirallus australis) is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand. Some authorities consider it as the only extant member of the genus Gallirallus. [3] Four subspecies are recognized but only two (northern/southern) are supported by genetic evidence. [4]

Māori often named birds after their call, their plumage or their behaviour. In one of the many stories about the demigod Māui, the hihi refused to fetch water for him after he had captured the sun and slowed it down. Māui threw the bird into the fire, burning its feathers.

The huia is one of New Zealand's best-known extinct birds because of its bill shape and beauty, as well as its special place in Māori culture and oral tradition. The bird was regarded by Māori as tapu (sacred), and the wearing of its skin or feathers was reserved for people of high status.

May 10, 2018 · The Kiwi was known as the hidden bird of Tane and Māori traditionally hunted the Kiwi (albeit sparingly and with great ceremony) for its meat, skin, and feathers that were turned into cloaks for Māori chiefs. Toroa / Albatross. This graceful giant is the largest seabird in the world, usually mates for life and breeds only in New Zealand.

Aug 13, 2018 · Birds or Nga Manu had a vital place in Maori tribal life as they provided food, beautiful feathers for adornment and their strengths and personalities were a rich source of metaphor and poetry. Their behaviour was use to predict the weather and sometimes the future.

Aotearoa New Zealand is known worldwide for its unique native birdlife. Ngā manu a Tānemahuta have been taonga from the first moments of early Polynesian immigration. Manu – along with trees and mankind – are descendants of Tāne and therefore related to each other.

New Zealand birds, Maori myth and lore, this section will introduce you to the rich bird myth of Maori.