weka
(ˈweka, ˈweɪkə, ˈwiːkə)
Also waika.
[Maori, so named from its cry.]
The native name for the flightless rails Ocydromus australis and O. brachypterus of New Zealand. Also called weka rail.
| 1845 E. J. Wakefield Adv. New Zealand II. iv. 95 Two young weka, or wood-hens, about as large as sparrows. 1852 Zoologist X. 3400 The eggs of..the Weka (Ocydromus), obtained in the Middle Island, New Zealand. 1873 Ibis Ser. iii. (1874) IV. 97 Wood or Maori Hen. Weka. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 20 Jan. 9/2 The weka rails are also flightless. 1914 Chamb. Jrnl. Nov. 751/1 The weka..is very common throughout the New Zealand bush. |