Scientific name : Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae

Other names : native pigeon, New Zealand pigeon, wood pigeon, kereru, kokopa, kūkū, kūkupa, parea

New Zealand Status: Native (Endemic)
Conservation Status: Not threatened

Where they feed: Ground, shrubs and trees.
What they eat: Shoots, leaves, buds, flowers and fruit

Where they feed: Shrubs, trees and in the air.
What they eat: Invertebrates, fruit

• Leading up to the time of Matariki, Kererū become extremely fat from eating toromiro (miro) fruit, readily available at this time of year. They gorge themselves to the point where sometimes they can no longer hold their body weight and fall off their perch – sometimes with fatal consequences.
• Traditionally at this time of year, the berry-fat Kererū were harvested both for immediate consumption but more importantly for preserving in their own fat for leaner times ahead and for highly celebrated events. They were reserved only for highly recognised individuals and women, especially those bearing children.
• Toromiro – an alternative name for the miro tree that has to a great extent fallen into disuse – is itself intrinsically linked to this relationship between the Kererū and the tree. ‘Miro’ is the oval shape of the berry, and ‘toro’ means to stretch. Toromiro, therefore, gets its name from the action of the Kererū stretching its gullet to pick the oval fruit.
• Tupu-a-rangi, one of the stars of Matariki, is connected to all the birds of the air, the fruit and pollen from the trees and all the provisions above the ground.