‘Hakuwai, hakuwai hakuwai…’ That’s the call of a creature known as the hākuwai bird, heard around South Cape and Motu Tītī (the Muttonbird Islands) in New Zealand’s deep south. It was never overtly seen, and its identity still remains a mystery. Was it a bird that has since gone extinct? Was it an unknown species, or simply a case of mistaken identity?

The call of the Hākuwai

Motu Tītī, also known as the Muttonbird Islands, are scattered around Stewart Island/Rakiura at the base of New Zealand. It’s a hostile environment where winds scream over the scrub and enormous waves batter the rocks. While the islands are not inhabited permanently, Rakiura Māori have visited them for centuries to harvest tītī (Sooty shearwaters, Puffinus griseus) for food, oil, and trade.

The hākuwai was heard at night during ‘torching time’ when mutton-birders prepared to harvest tītī between late April to mid-May. Witnesses described hearing a heavy swishing sound and an eerie call, ‘hakuwai, hakuwai, hakuwai’ (aka. ‘hakawai‘), followed by a roar, or alternatively, a ‘clinking’ noise like a lowering chain.

It was heard in the skies across the southern islands prior to the 1960s. At first, the call came from the north, then the south, east, and finally west. It was often followed by southerlies and storms, and hearing it was considered a bad omen (Jenkin 1970; Miskelly 1987; Saunders 1968).

He hākuwai anake te manu i whakahua i tōna ingoa, ‘Hakuwai! Hakuwai!’ 

The hākuwai is the only bird that called its name, ‘Hakuwai! Hakuwai!’

– Māori Proverb (applied to boasters)

what was the hākuwai?

There have been many hypotheses concerning the origins of the hākuwai call. Some attribute it to the tītī itself, while others speculate that it was made by another seabird species perhaps as they birds departed the islands for their migration (Jenkins 1970).

According to Māori Dictionary the hākuwai is ‘a mythical bird, the Subantartic snipe, Coenocorypha aucklandica found on predator-free islands.’ The idea that the hākuwai was the Stewart Island Snipe (C. iredalei), a plump wading bird, was proposed by Dr Collin Miskelly who was studying a related snipe species, C. aucklandica. The latter species produces a roar during their aerial displays at night when air vibrates through their tail feathers. Dr Miskelly thought such sounds might have led to the myth of the hākuwai, although these snipes are not known to make a ‘hakuwai’ call themselves.

Were the hōkioi and hākuwai the same bird?

In Māori oral tradition, the hōkioi was a fearsome bird that was as large as the moa and similar to the kāhu (harrier hawk). It had splendid black and white plumage, and a crown of distinctive red feathers. While the kāhu shrieked ‘kei,’ the hōkioi cried ‘hokioi – hokioi – hu – u’ (Olliver 2005).

There is strong evidence that the hōkioi was the (now extinct) Haast Eagle (Harpagornis moorei) that had a wingspan of 2-3 metres and stood at nearly 1 metre tall. The Haast eagle is said to have gone extinct sometime around 1500AD after its primary food source, the moa, was hunted to extinction.

It’s possible that the hōkioi and hākuwai were the same bird. In Māori legend, the hākuwai is an enormous bird that ‘lived in the sky’- congruous with the Haast eagle that frequented mountainous areas. Haast eagle skeletons have also been found around Stewart Island, indicating they were present where people heard the hākuwai call (Szabo 2013).

In 2019, Te Papa released a project by Piers Gilbertson who reconstructed the potential vocalizations of New Zealand’s extinct birds (RNZ 2019 listen here). However, perhaps unsurprisingly the call of the Haast Eagle (based on the extant Wahlberg eagle) sounds nothing like ‘hakuwai.’

Conclusion: The hākuwai Bird

Because the two prime candidates for the hākuwai are now extinct, a degree of uncertainty will shroud the identity of this enigmatic bird for years to come.

Personally, I’m inclined to think that the Haast Eagle/Hōkioi is the hākuwai, and that the hōkioi/hākuwai names are variations that reflect regional and/or iwi (tribe) dialects. Perhaps the non-vocal ‘roar’ of southern snipes became associated with this iconic raptor.

But, questions remain. While the hākuwai was only heard around Stewart Island and South Cape, the hōkioi (Haast Eagle) was heard far beyond. This begs the question: did those who heard the mysterious ‘hakuwai’ know the call of Haast Eagle and were therefore able to distinguish between the two? Probably not, considering the eagle was very rare (if not extinct) by the 1500s. So, could it have survived long enough to make the calls heard up until the 1920s?

It remains to be one of Aotearoa’s many mysteries… What do you think? Comment below.

know about these other New Zealand mysteries?

• 5 Interesting Facts You Should Know About Rakiura/Stewart Island
• The Hilarious New Zealand Moa Hoax
• The Tarawera Phantom Canoe: Revisiting Aotearoa’s Enduring Mystery
• A guide to the South Island’s Town Slogans

References

• Jenkin R. 1970. New Zealand Mysteries. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed.
• Olliver N. 2005. Te Hokioi. Maori myth, legend and lore. Greytown: New Zealand Birds. [accessed 2021 Feb 21]. https://www.nzbirds.com/birds/hokioi.html
• Miskelly CM. 1987. The identity of the Hakawai. Journal of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. 34(2): 95-116.
• [RNZ] Radio New Zealand. 2019. Aotearoa’s extinct bird calls. [accessed 2021 Feb 19]. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018694407/aotearoa-s-extinct-bird-calls
• Saunders TV. 1968. The Titi Islands. Te Ao Hou No. 64. [accessed 2021 Feb 20]. http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/journals/teaohou/issue/Mao64TeA/c9.html
• Szabo MJ. 2013. Haast’s eagle. In Miskelly, CM. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. [accessed 2021 Feb 02]. http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/haasts-eagle