This film takes us to Okarito Lagoon in the far south-west of New Zealand, where the rare white heron’s ancestral nesting tree stands beside the quiet waters. Each spring about forty of these birds gather in the same tree to build their nests, rear their young, and depart before winter comes. Kotuku, or white heron, was a sacred bird of the Maori, so rare that “the flight of the white heron is seen but once in a lifetime”.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
005934
Language
English
Subject categories
Animals & Wildlife → Birds - Behavior
Animals & Wildlife → Birds - New Zealand
Animals & Wildlife → Water birds
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Legends - New Zealand
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Maori (New Zealand people)
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → New Zealand - Description and travel
Climate, Environment, Natural Resources & Disasters → Natural history
Documentary → Documentary films - New Zealand
Educational & Instructional → Educational films
History → Legends - New Zealand
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)
16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)