16/06/2023
as part of this year's New Zealand Garden Bird Survey 🐦
Pīwakawaka, fantail, also know by some iwi as tirairaka, tīwaiwaka or tīwakawaka
Known for its friendly ‘cheet cheet’ call and flittering flying antics, the pīwakawaka / fantail is one of the most common native birds in Aotearoa.
Māori believe this bird is a messenger from the spiritual world, sometimes responsible for the presence of a departing loved one. This is captured in the narratives of Maui the great hero of the Pacific. Maui thinking he could overcome death and secure immotality by successfully passing through the goddess of death, Hine-nui-te-po, who tried to enter the goddess’s sleeping body through the pathway of birth. The pīwakawaka, warned by Maui to be quiet, began laughing and woke Hine-nui-te-po, who promptly killed Maui.
Known for its cheeky antics, the whakataukī ‘he tou tīwaiwaka’ means ‘ants in your pants’ and refers to people who have trouble keeping still!
📖 This information was shared by Manaaki Whenua Kairangahau – ecologist Puke Timoti.
This illustration is by Johannes Gerardus (J.G.) Keulemans, a Dutch artist, and comes from Buller’s “A history of the birds of New Zealand”. J.G. Keulemans did not visit New Zealand but lived and worked in England, where he illustrated many ornithology books. His work is known for its accuracy and detail.
