Hedwhig the New Zealand Morepork
Our New Zealand owl, morepork or ruru does not often make itself obvious during the day but the alarmed calls of the other birds alerted us to Hedwhig perched in a ponga tree. Alas his beautiful big golden eyes are not visible but he was keeping a very close eye on our dogs three metres below him. They are a familiar sound at night as they make their call (“More pork, more pork”, they call with a particular pitch) and from time to time we see the flash of feathers as one swoops in to pick the moths attracted to night time lights.
Hedwhig – a New Zealand joke, or maybe even a highly specific Whanganui reference.
Hedwhig? I want to “get” the joke, but nothing’s resonating for this kiwi.
Ah yes, Mark tells me I was being too obscure by far, or suffering from a case of free floating ideas, perhaps? Think Michael Laws and the debate on the spelling of Whanganui. I was merely giving an indigenous take on the name of a very famous owl (Harry Potter’s Hedwig).
I like it. Very clever twhist!
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