Our native Piwakawaka

 See this little guy? This is a New Zealand Fantail - also known as Piwakawaka in the Maori language.  They are extremely curious and will follow people around flittering their wings and chirping. Usually in Maori mythology they are thought of as being death or news of a death from the Gods to the people.  We don't see alot of them in urban areas, they seem to prefer native forests. You can hear the chirps by the different types of Fantails here.

Fantail by Thijs de Koning

Our town has an activity zone which is very very popular with families and teenagers. Not only is there a skatepark but there is also a play area and will also in the near future include a cricket patch, a barbecue area, walking tracks, bicycle tracks,  soccer field, flying fox and cafe. I've researched the artist of this mural which is on the public toilet and it looks like it was painted by local artist Thijs de Koning and celebrates one of our iconic birds - the Fantail.

The Fantail or Piwakawaka as it's known in Maori is quite a friendly bird. They don't often hang about in public places but much prefer quiet native bush areas and tend to curiously flit around people. They are not endangered but in the Maori world they are known to bring news of a death from the gods to the people.

Linking up with Mural Monday and Our World Tuesday.