Meet the kerkeru. This big bird—about 20 inches long and nearly two pounds—is the native and endemic pigeon of New Zealand. Kerkeru is its Maori name, and that’s what most folks call it. But it’s also known as a wood pigeon, because it lives in wooded areas. Their diet is mainly the small fruits of the trees in their habitag. They play an important ecological role, as they are the only birds capable of eating the largest native fruits, and thus spreading the seeds intact.
I took this photo on Tiritiri Matangi, an island near Auckland that’s a wildlife sanctuary. But I also saw them in the tree in my cousin’s front yard in suburban Auckland. So they’re fairly common. But getting a clear shot of a perching kerkeru was very uncommon for me, so I was thrilled to have this one posing for me!