Bird of the Year: Tui, the heavenly honeyeater
Campaign Manager(s) Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, www.ukulele.co.nz
Photo: Micheal Hamilton
We love the tui. We love the heavenly honeyeater so much that it has pride of place on our logo.
Here are just a few things that the tui has in common with the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra:
1. We both love honey.
2. The tui travels large distances but its environmental footprint is very small. We also travel large distances on our tours, and many of us take trains and boats rather than airplanes.
3. The tui is very clever at impersonating humans and mimicking other birds, which makes it the covers band of native NZ birds.
4. When there are a lot of tuis around, that’s a good sign of regeneration. Same with ukuleles.
5. Tuis are very intelligent. Say no more.
6. Tuis love to sing at night, especially when there’s a full moon. So does our Bek.
7. The tui is a very important pollinator, keeping its environment fertile. Our audience members tell us that we have been implicated in some fertile moments through the pollination of joy and music. Ahem.
8. When tui are mating they fly really high then drop into powered dives. Have you seen our Andy diving into a river?
9. When other birds come between a tui and its favourite feeding tree, it goes a little crazy. No comment.
10. Spring is sexy-time for the tui because it’s when they hook up with their breeding partners. We feel pretty sexy right now. If you are also feeling sexy, then vote for the tui, our Bird of the Year, every year.
xxx WIUO xxx
