Skip to main content

Story: Land birds – overview

Weka, Kāpiti Island

Image
Weka, Kāpiti Island

The weka is one of a number of New Zealand’s flightless species that finds its food on or near the ground. It eats a variety of animal prey and plant foods. 

Using this item

Private collection

by Christina Troup

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Kerry-Jayne Wilson, Land birds – overview – Flightless land birds, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9907/weka-kapiti-island (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Kerry-Jayne Wilson, published 26 May 2015.