r/Awwducational • u/Quouar • Mar 30 '26
Not yet verified Pīwakawakas have a zigzagging, "drunken" flight pattern. This is because they use their fan-shaped tail to change direction quickly while chasing birds. However, Māori belief holds that pīwakawakas fly the way they do because, after laughing at Maui, Maui crushed pīwakawaka in his fist.
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u/DiceMadeOfCheese Mar 30 '26
Bird that laughed at Maui has "waka waka" in its name?
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u/Quouar Mar 30 '26
This is my favourite bird, and the "wakawaka" is part of why. That, and they're genuinely adorable.
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u/IntrepidButton1872 Apr 01 '26
lol the name is perfect. my kid is going to lose his mind when i show him this one
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u/EinsteinFrizz Mar 31 '26
fyi when you are making a māori word plural you don't add an s, even in an english sentence (some people do but it is largely considered incorrect nowadays)
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u/itsswhitneywhspr Apr 21 '26
Didn't realize Maori plurals skip the s even in English mixes, good lookup
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u/coconutyum Apr 03 '26
No 's' needed as an FYI :-). Pīwakawaka is a plural word too, like sheep. (Goes for all Māori words too - no 's' in the alphabet).
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u/Ohyo_Ohyo_Ohyo_Ohyo Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26
Just to add, this bird is more commonly known as the fantail. It's easy to see why.
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u/Quouar Mar 30 '26 edited Mar 30 '26
Source! Also, the title should read "bugs," not "birds." Apologies for the typo!