kereru

/ kɛrɛruː /

noun

1. another name for New Zealand pigeon

Word History and Origins

Origin of kereru¹

Māori

Example Sentences

My friends in Australia and New Zealand tell me that since the lockdowns began, flocks of spine-tailed swifts have swelled, more fairy-wrens are popping up at their bird baths and kereru — big pigeons that swallow large fruit — are perching on their back fences.

Read more on New York Times

Previous winners include the kereru, a type of wood pigeon, in 2018 and the kea, a species of large parrot, in 2017.

Read more on BBC

Forest & Bird, the conservation group that runs the poll, said the hoiho's victory over the kakapo and last year's winner, the kereru, was a "huge upset".

Read more on BBC

I also see kereru, New Zealand’s large native wood pigeons, calling to each other.

Read more on The Guardian

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was quick to congratulate the kereru even though she had been rooting for the taiko, or black petrel.

Read more on BBC