PUKEKO !

Engraving from Captain Cook's travels

The pukeko is a silly New Zealand bird, which is deep blue with a black head. When they walk they look quite cheeky with their white undertail flicking with every step.
The pukeko's bill and shield (on top of their head) are scarlet, their eyes are red and their legs and feet are orange – red. Talk about contrasting! The name's translation from the Greek means 'purple purple black', though they are more blue than purple.



Pukeko at Tiritiri Matangi picnic site Look at those feet!

Probably because of their boldness and beautiful colouring, their images are found on all manner of art and craft works here.
There are drawings of them on temple walls in Egypt, amongst the papyrus and the Romans kept them as decorative, pet birds - so they've been around a while. The guess is that they arrived in New Zealand about a 1000 years ago.



Having a bath!

The sound they make is a loud unmusical screech and sometimes also a ‘tuk – tuk’, (for hours).
Pukeko mainly feed on swamp and pasture vegetation, insects, spiders, frogs, small birds and eggs. This explains why they are also called 'swamp hens'.



The 'shield' on their heads.

Pūkeko are known for their bold scheming and determination. In times past they raided gardens for kūmara and taro and some people consider them a pest.
A stubborn, annoying person is compared metaphorically to the bird, and is said to have Pūkeko ears (taringa Pākura)[. They are also known to steal eggs from each other, so they're not very trustworthy!



Peacock and pukeko together!

As far as their culinary value goes, some say, to cook a Pukeko, you add a stone in the pot with the Pukeko, cook for several hours, throw away the Pukeko and eat the stone!