Pīwakawaka/tīrairaka

The cheeky little fantail follows people and other birds through the bush, snapping up insects disturbed by the movement and taking nearly all of its prey on the wing.

It has around 20 different names – most of a reduplicated structure to mimic its repeated actions.

The pīwakawaka also features in the Māui narratives as the manu who foiled Māui’s attempt to conquer death by climbing back up through the body of his ancestor, the guardian of the underworld, Hine-nui-te-pō. By twittering with laughter at the wrong moment, Pīwakawaka woke Hine-nui-te-pō who brought her legs together, killing Māui, and death came into the world.

Its part in this story may explain why it is a bad omen for a pīwakawaka to enter one’s house.