hākuwai
1. (noun) a mythical bird, New Zealand snipe, Coenocorypha aucklandica - a small rotund variegated brown wader with a long slightly drooping brown bill and short legs. Found on preator-free islands in the subantarctic.
He hakuwai anake te manu i whakahua i tōna ingoa, 'Hakuwai! Hakuwai!' (TPH 30/10/1903:2) / The hakuwai is the only bird that called its name, 'Hakuwai! Hakuwai!'
See also hōkioi
