Kōkako

Original painting SOLD, acrylic on canvas, 300 x 300mm, 2015

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Print sizes and editions (limited to 275)

• Regular museum archival paper print - 300 x 300mm

Your unique limited edition fine art print

1. Sofia Minson creates your exclusive signed print
2. We ship for $25 in NZ and from $50 internationally
3. Your artwork arrives rolled, ready to be framed - do you need help? Request framing guidance

The story of Kōkako

The kōkako is an endemic New Zealand wattlebird, closely related to the extinct huia. The North Island kōkako has bright blue wattles, while the supposedly extinct South Island kōkako has orange or yellow wattles and is known today as the Grey Ghost. Rare sightings are still occasionally reported.

Māori myth tells of the kōkako giving demi-god Maui water to quench his thirst as he fought to slow the racing sun with strong ropes, to bring longer days to the world. The kōkako filled its wattles with water and brought it to Maui, who rewarded the kōkako by making its legs long and slender, enabling the bird to bound through the forest with ease in search of food.

There are fewer than 400 pairs of North Isalnd kōkako that occur in isolated populations in mature podocarp-hardwood forests.

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Sofia Minson Paintings | New Zealand Artwork