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The weka, also known as the Māori hen[2] or woodhen (Gallirallus australis) is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is the only extant member of the genus Gallirallus.[3] Four subspecies are recognized but only two (northern/southern) are supported by genetic evidence.[4]
The common name, "weka", is a Māori word. The species was named Rallus australis by Anders Erikson Sparrman in 1789.[8] Sparrman published the information in Museum Carlsonianum, four fascicules based on specimens collected while voyaging with Captain James Cook between 1772 and 1775.[9] Australis is Latin for "southern". Johann Georg Wagler's suggestion of the genus Ocydromus in 1830 to describe each weka as a species was generally adopted.[10] However, weka were later classified as a single species in the genus Gallirallus with four subspecies.
The buff weka (Gallirallus australis hectori)[11] formerly inhabited the eastern districts of the South Island but is now confined to Chatham Island and Pitt Island to which it was introduced in the early 1900s, and where they are widely hunted and eaten in the autumn (due to their status as non-native to the islands).[12]
Reintroduction into Canterbury has been unsuccessful so far but introductions to Mao Waho Island (in Lake Wānaka in 2004) and from there to Pigeon and Pig Island (in Lake Wakatipu in 2005/2006) have been much more successful. It has a lighter overall colouring than the other subspecies. The North Island weka (G. a. greyi)[13] is represented by original populations in Northland and Poverty Bay, and by liberations elsewhere from that stock. This subspecies differs in its greyer underparts, and brown rather than reddish coloured legs.[14]
Weka occupy areas such as forests, sub-alpine grassland, sand dunes, rocky shores and modified semi-urban environments. They are omnivorous, with a diet comprising 30% animal foods and 70% plant foods. Animal foods include earthworms, larvae, beetles, wētā, ants, grass grubs, slugs, snails, insect eggs, slaters, frogs, spiders, rats, mice, and small birds. Stewart Island weka (G. a. scotti) have been observed preying on sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus) eggs and chicks.[17]
Plant foods include leaves, grass, berries and seeds. Weka are important in the bush as seed dispersers, distributing seeds too large for smaller berry-eating birds.[18] Where the weka is relatively common, their furtive curiosity leads them to search around houses and camps for food scraps, or anything unfamiliar and transportable.[6] They have been known to take shiny objects in particular.[19]
The breeding season varies, but when food is plentiful, weka can raise up to four broods throughout the whole year. Nests are made on the ground under the cover of thick vegetation, and built by making grass (or similar material) into a bowl to hold about four eggs. On average, female weka lay three creamy or pinkish eggs blotched with brown and mauve. Both sexes incubate. The chicks hatch after a month, and are fed by both parents until fully grown between six and ten weeks.[6][7]
Weka are classed as a vulnerable species. The Department of Conservation's weka recovery plan, approved in 1999, aims to improve the conservation status of threatened weka, clarify the status of data deficient weka, maintain the non-threatened status of other weka, and eventually restore all weka to their traditional ranges as a significant component of the ecosystems.[20]
The Department of Conservation identifies eight main threats to weka. Predation by ferrets, cats, and dogs are a threat to adult weka;[22] stoats and ferrets are a threat to chicks; stoats and rats are a threat to eggs. It faces competition with introduced species for fruits and invertebrates, and suffers from the impact browsers have on forest composition and regeneration. Habitat depletion is caused by the modification and degradation of forests and wetlands. Diseases and parasites have been associated with population declines, although little is known. Drought has been implicated in the disappearance of weka from some areas. In some regions, motor vehicles cause a significant amount of roadkill death. Pest control operations sometimes kill weka, as they have ground foraging habits vulnerable to poison baits, and traps are laid in a way that weka can reach. Genetic diversity can be lost during the transmission of genes through generations, affecting isolated populations.[23]
Weka are significant to some Māori iwi (tribes) who admire their curiosity and feisty, bold personality traits which have led to them being relatively easy to catch. Weka were used by the Māori as a source of food, perfume, oil to treat inflammations, feathers in clothing[24] and lures to catch dogs. Early European explorers and settlers frequently encountered and utilised weka; they were called "bush hens".[25]
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