Artwork Information

Christened by Captain Cook the poi-bird, the tui is now widely known by its Māori name, although colonists often referred to it as the ‘parson bird’ on account of its white neck feathers and sermonising habits. Cook in 1773 described it thus:

'The feathers of a fine mazarine blue.... Under its throat hang two little tufts of curled, snow-white feathers, called its poies, which being the Otaheitean word for ear-rings, occasioned our giving the name to the bird, which is not more remarkable for the beauty of its plumage than for the sweetness of its note. The flesh is also most delicious, and was the greatest luxury the woods afforded us.'