The New Zealand fantail
(Rhipidura fuliginosa) is a small insectivorous bird, the only species of fantail in New Zealand It has four subspecies: R. f. fuliginosa in the South Island R. f. placabilis in the North Island R. f. penita in the Chatam Islands, and the now-extinct R. f. cervina formerly on Lord Howe Island It is also known by its Maori names, pīwakawaka, tīwakawaka or piwaiwaka; the common pied morph is also known as pied fantail
In Maori mythology the piwakawaka is a messenger, bringing death or news of death from the gods to the people, The bulbous eyes and erratic flying behavior of the bird is attributed to it being squeezed by Maori for not revealing the whereabouts of his ancestress Mahuika, the fire deity . Tiwakawaka is also the name of one of the first Maori settlers to New Zealand
Did you know?
Chicks are fed every 10 minutes – that's about 100 times per day!
It took a while and lots of deleted picture but i finally managed to get some flying pics
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