- Educational Resources
- >
- Get to Know our Native Birds (bird, habitat, lifecycle)
- >
- Weka Single Sided Wooden Puzzle
Weka Single Sided Wooden Puzzle
The Weka is one of New Zealand’s iconic large flightless birds. Weka are charismatic birds that are often attracted to human activity. This makes an encounter with a Weka a wildlife highlight for many people, as the curious bird searches for any food item that the intruder might bring. But people who live alongside Weka often have a less charitable opinion, as they have to live with ever-watchful Weka snatching opportunities to raid vegetable gardens, pilfer poultry food and eggs, and even steal dog food from the bowl. Unfortunately Weka are not as robust as they appear, and have become extinct over large tracts of the mainland. Causes of extinction are complex, and are likely to be due to interactions between climatic conditions (especially drought) and predator numbers (especially ferrets, stoats and dogs). Fortunately, Weka still thrive at many accessible sites. The Weka is a large flightless rail that can have extremely variable plumage. Most birds are predominantly mid-brown. Most birds have their dorsal feathers streaked with black, and all have their longest wing and tail feathers boldly barred with black. As adults, all have red eyes, a strong pointed bill and strong legs. Weka are omnivorous, and are both scavengers and predators. They consume a wide variety of fruit and invertebrates, also eggs, lizards, small mammals and birds.