Which should we use?
More than 1200 Māori names for bird names have been recorded for around 200 species in New Zealand.
Māori bird names are often used in biodiversity reports, but it can be difficult to know which ones are best to use, as the names used by iwi can differ from place to place.
The fantail, for example, has more than 25 names. Using ‘kererū’ in Northland might get a quick response – ‘no, that’s a kūkupa!’
Pīwaiwaka, pīwakawaka, or tīrairaka?
Image - Andrew Walmsley (www.awimages.net)
Kererū, kūkū or kūkūpa?
Image - Tom Marshall
