The New Zealand Weka is one of our iconic flightless birds.
Sometimes called a Woodhen, the Weka is a member of the Rail family. They are 3 to 5 times larger than the Banded Rail at about 50-60cm long (20+ in).
We observed this mother and her chick on Kapiti Island. They are curious birds and are attracted to humans in search of food scraps.
They have a varied diet from fruit and seeds to bugs, lizards, mice, rats, eggs and other ground nesting birds chicks. Two of them were even seen attacking a stoat!
This shot of the chick took a bit of luck. They move fast and he wasn't stopping to pose.
I'm sharing with
Gorgeous photos of the Weka Jocee!
ReplyDeleteThey are friendly, curious and cheeky birds!
My in-laws had a bach on Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf and were over run by Wekas.
The vege garden had to be covered with wire netting!
Lovely to meet a fellow Kiwi at Our World Tuesday!
Shane
The Rails around here are really shy and like to stay hidden. Cool sighting and awesome photos. Enjoy your week ahead!
ReplyDeleteWow, great photos and you are lucky to see them. Stunning.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of the Weka and especially good to get a photo of the chick. I saw Wekas in south NZ when I was visiting there a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteThey are all great shots!
ReplyDeleteSplendid photos, I do like them!
ReplyDeletea very neat bird!
ReplyDeleteExcellent!! And to have you share the chick is a plus!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a handsome bird!
ReplyDeleteNow that's a big rail! Great shots, especially nice to get the chick!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beauty of a bird!
ReplyDeletesuperb
ReplyDeleteHow cool! I can see the resemblance to the rails. Lovely shots. Visiting from Wild Bird Wednesday. :)
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