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Story: Ngā manu – birds

Migrating kūaka

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Migrating kūaka

The kūaka (godwit) migrates north in autumn, and is often likened to spirits of the dead departing this world. When many people die at the same time, they are compared to a flock of migrating kūaka.

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New Zealand Herald

by Greg Bowker

Permission of the New Zealand Herald must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Kelly Keane, Ngā manu – birds – Birds associated with death, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/12150/migrating-kuaka (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Kelly Keane, published 1 March 2009, updated 17 February 2015.