Whio | Blue Duck

Whio are a taonga (treasured) species with a strong cultural, spiritual, and historic significance to the Māori people. The species was previously found all over Aotearoa New Zealand, but now they are only found in the less developed areas of Te Urewera, the East Cape, and the central North Island, as well as along the West Coast of the South Island.

Adult whio of both sexes are alike, being uniformly slate blue-grey with chestnut spotting on the breast, a pale grey bill with a conspicuously expanded black flap at its tip, dark grey legs and feet, and yellow eyes. Males are larger than females, have more breast spotting, and more prominent green-ish iridescence on the head, neck, and back.