Polynesians Explore the New Zealand Bush.

Taketakerau The Millennium Tree : The Art - Illustrations

One of my illustrations for this book, which describes the history of Aotearoa New Zealand in relation to a 2000 year old Puriri tree (still extant) that was for many centuries used as a burial tree by the local Maori tribe.  Here, the Polynesian migrants explore the native forest and bush, finding birds and plants entirely new to them.

The Kokako or Blue-Wattled Crow

One of our victories in the fight against extinction of native New Zealand species is the North Island Kokako or Blue-wattled crow (Calleas cinerea - endangered).  Up here in the North, they have been re-established in the Puketi Forest, close to where I live, though I don't get them on this property.

The Kokako is quite an amazing-looking bird with blue wattles (the presumed-extinct South Island Kokako had orange wattles), a strong beak and quite a large body:

This is a detail from a painting called "Dawn Chorus" that I did last year as one of a series of 36 artworks to illustrate the recently-published book "Taketakerau The Millennium Tree".
Enjoy!
Patricia
http://patriciahowitt.com

http:..taketakerau.com