tui

American  

[too-ee] / ˈtu i /

noun

1. a black New Zealand honey eater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, having a patch of white feathers on each side of the throat, sometimes tamed as a pet.

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tui British  

/ ˈtuːɪ /

noun

1. a New Zealand honeyeater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae , having a glossy bluish-green plumage with white feathers at the throat: it mimics human speech and the songs of other birds

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Etymology

Origin of tui

First recorded in 1825–35, tui is from the Maori word tūī

Example Sentences

Toni Williams, 52, who lives on the Banks Peninsula, said he has seen a three- or fourfold increase in the number of tui, a native bird, at a feeder near his house.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 5, 2024

As a result, conservation groups sued the agency, saying it would potentially harm sage grouse, a species whose population is listed as "sensitive," as well as the Owens tui chub, an endangered fish.

From Salon • Aug. 30, 2023

The world's first urban ecosanctuary opened in 1999 a mile from the city centre as the tui flies.

From BBC • Jun. 26, 2023

The only place in the world that the 5-inch-long, olive-colored tui chub still exists is in a basin in Esmeralda County between Reno and Las Vegas.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 23, 2022

The preest than, halfe amasyd, answerd and sayd: filii tui sicut nouellæ oliuarum in circuitu mensæ tuæ.

From Shakespeare Jest-Books Reprints of the Early and Very Rare Jest-Books Supposed to Have Been Used by Shakespeare by Hazlitt, William Carew