mātukutuku
1. (noun) reef heron, Egretta sacra - a slaty-grey heron with a long, heavy, grey to yellowish bill. Legs relatively short, yellow-green. Hunched and almost horizontal when feeding. Found in mangrove inlets, rocky shores, wave platforms and intertidal mudflats.
Ka tukua e ia ōna karere ki te tūtū i ngā tāngata o Te Waipounamu - arā, ngā iwi o konei; ko Karoro, ko Ngoio, ko Turiwhatu, ko Mātukutuku, ko Tarapunga, me Kawau-paka, me te tini noa iho o ngā ope manu o tēnei kāinga o te waitai (JPS 1901:72). / So he sent his messengers to summon the people of the South Island, that is the tribes of here - the black-backed gulls, the Ngoio, the New Zealand dotterel, the reef heron, the red-billed gull, the little shag, and the numerous other bird flocks of the ocean.
See also matuku moana
Synonyms: matuku nuia, matuku tai, matuku waitai, tīkāka, matuku moana, kākatai
2. (noun) clubmosses, Lycopodium spp - scrambling or epiphytic plants of various species. Main stems are usually long-creeping, branched and underground. Aerial stems fork repeatedly and are narrow. Small leaves spirally arranged around stem or flattened into one plane.
