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The New Zealand native pigeon, called kereru in the Maori language, is the largest of the four species of pigeons and doves found in the country. Altogether 280 species have been recorded in the family Columbidae that are found in most parts of the world except for polar and subpolar regions and some oceanic islands. The kereru is endemic to New Zealand and is commonly known as the wood pigeon.

Life Cycle

The kereru, Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae, is plump and richly colored, with purple head and nape, iridescent green face, throat and breast and lower back and distinctive white ‘bib’ or under parts which make it easy to distinguish among the leaves. It is commonly called the wood pigeon but is not the same as the Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus), which is a member of a different genus.

The kereru is widely distributed in the forested areas, feeding on young leaves, fruits and flowers of many native and exotic trees and shrubs. It is different in appearance to the familiar birds of public parks and city squares, which are the introduced species and descendants of the European rock dove, Columba livia. The kereru usually weighs between 550-850 grams and grows to 20 inches in length. Though the life span of the kereru is 20 years, the average life span has reduced to five years due to the various threats it faces in today’s environment.

The kereru breeds between the months from September to March, depending on the availability of ripe fruits. It builds a flimsy nest of twigs and sticks in shrubs, trees and palms and lays a single egg each season. The egg has an incubation period of around 30 days. The young bird then takes another 36 days to fledge. In seasons of plentiful fruit the pigeons can successfully nest up to four times.

Significance

The Maori, the early inhabitants of New Zealand, had an intimate knowledge of the birds and their habits. This knowledge was the basis of the characteristics and significance given to the bird figures of their legends and proverbs. The kereru, that gorged themselves on berries until they were almost too heavy to fly were proverbial symbols of greed!!