kuaka
1. (noun) bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica - a brown-and-white migratory wading bird with a long, slightly upturned, black bill and a pink base which breeds in the northern hemisphere and summers in the southern. An important source of food, Māori distinguished three varieties based on their plumage and age: 1. an older bird (kakao, hakakao, rakakao); 2. a red bird (kura) preparing to migrate; and 3. a whiter bird (karoro).
(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 2; Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 34;)
Ko te manu reka pea te kuaka o tēnei mea o te manu; ki te hunga kai kuaka, ki te takoto mai he kuaka, he kūkupa (kererū) kāore e mahara ki te kūkupa; mā te pau o ngā kuaka kātahi ka kai i ngā kūkupa (TP 1/11/1901:2). / Perhaps the tastiest bird is the godwit; to the people who eat godwit, if godwits and pigeons are laid out they don't think about the pigeon; only when the godwits are consumed will they eat pigeons.
See also kakao, hakakao, rakakao, karoro, kura
Synonyms: tarakakao, rīrīwaka, kuhikuhiwaka, kura, karoro, kakao, rakakao, hakakao
