weka
nounEtymology From Māori weka.
1
New Zealand Gallirallus australis, a flightless bird of New Zealand in the family Rallidae with brown plumage.
- […] riroriros would be twittering overhead, with a shy weka peeping round a tree trunk. Wekas were very common then; they were our weather forecasters. Before rain their calls were always louder and repeated more frequently.1964, Forest and Bird (issues 151-170, page 15)
- Thin darned socks, and old old clothes. The greatcoat. A superb weka feather cloak.1983, Keri Hulme, The Bone People, Penguin, published 1986, page 374: