Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A flightless rail (Gallirallus australis) of New Zealand, having mottled brown plumage and short legs.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One of several species of large, flightless rails of the genus Ocydromus, found in New Zealand: commonly known as wood-hen.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A New Zealand rail (
Ocydromus australis ) which has wings so short as to be incapable of flight.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
woodhen , aflightless bird ofNew Zealand .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun flightless New Zealand rail of thievish disposition having short wings each with a spur used in fighting
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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An albino specimen of the New Zealand endemic flightless bird, the weka, may be more vulnerable to predators.
Archive 2008-02-01 2008
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Extant endemics on Rakiura and its offshore islets include subspecies of southern robin (Petroica australis rakiura), weka (Gallirallus australis scotti), and fernbird (Bowdleria punctata stewartiana), as well as a leaf-veined slug, a Paryphanta spp., and the harlequin gecko (Hoplodactylus nebulosis).
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Other birds with no close relatives beyond New Zealand found in the area include: blue duck Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos, wrybill Anarhynchus frontalis and western weka Gallirallus australis.
Te Wahipounamu (South-West New Zealand World Heritage Area), New Zealand 2008
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Sarah, an 8-ball is also a measure of cocaine or crystal meth, which makes it even more disturbing. weka 6:18 am on September 17, 2008 | # | Reply
DECLARE YOURSELF VOTER REGISTRATION CAMPAIGN » Sociological Images 2008
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C.a. iredalei was endemic to Stewart Island, but died out when weka (Gallirallus australis) and rats (Rattus rattus) were introduced.
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Even the flightless weka, a fierce and disorderly duck-sized bird, which is native to other parts of New Zealand, has been eradicated.
Last Chance to See Adams, Douglas, 1952- 1990
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We arose at 7 A.M. next day and breakfasted on porridge, weka, fried heart, "hard-tack" and cocoa.
The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 Douglas Mawson 1920
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He now had a collection of eggs of all birds which nest on the island, with the exception of the weka and the tern.
The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 Douglas Mawson 1920
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This is sufficient to bring every weka within a quarter of a mile hurrying to the spot, and, in a few minutes, heads may be seen poking out of the grass in every direction.
The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 Douglas Mawson 1920
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On this date we came to the end of our meats, which I had been dealing out in a very sparing manner, just to provide a change from sea elephant and weka.
The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 Douglas Mawson 1920
bilby commented on the word weka
"A while later we stop at one of the government huts, which is very clean and bare, and home to several juvenile native parrots, called keas, who run up and down the picnic table with their rolling, sailor-like gait, squawking and eyeballing you and trying to get your pack undone. There is also the occasional weka, an extraordinarily dim bird that wanders around in a daze and often tries to escape from walkers by hiding between their legs."
- 'Back To The Track' in GW, Amanda Hooton, 23 Feb 2008.
February 26, 2008
reesetee commented on the word weka
Great excerpt! I love the description of the keas and their "rolling, sailor-like gait."
February 26, 2008
bilby commented on the word weka
Hehe, and it's true as well. Keas are the absolute Mr Personality of the bird world from my encounters with them. Turn your back and they'll pick the rubber from around your windscreen just for fun. Think of green, feathered monkeys :-7
February 26, 2008
reesetee commented on the word weka
I've heard that! Wouldn't mind seeing it too (even more so if it weren't my car being snacked upon).
February 26, 2008
ry commented on the word weka
I wonder if wekau is somehow linguistically and/or cladistically related? Also, the Wordnet definition is boffo: "flightless New Zealand rail of thievish disposition..."
April 15, 2014