A long history of human consumption of kereru
Restrictions on shooting pigeon were first enacted in 1864, and total protection has been in place since 1921. There have been recent prosecutions for shooting pigeon, which presently has total protection under the Wildlife Act 1953.
Nevertheless, protective legislation did not stop human consumption of pigeon, the largest of the flighted forest birds which get plump and sumptuous when food is available. Some Maori make the claim that killing pigeon for food is a traditional right.
As primarily frugivorous, kereru must eat large quantities of fruit to obtain sufficient nutrition. They gorge on a large variety of native fruit as it is in season, and during a particular fruiting period, their flesh takes on the taste of that fruit.
In A history of the birds of New Zealand, published in 1888, Sir Walter Buller wrote "in the spring and early summer it is generally very lean and unfit for the table; but as autumn advances and its favourite berries ripen, it rapidly improves in condition, till it becomes extremely fat.
It is esteemed most by epicures when feeding on the mast of the miro, which imparts a peculiar richness to the flesh.
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Kereru were speared and snared in great numbers by Maori, sometimes taking as many as sixty in one day. |
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In January the berries of the kohutuhutu, poroporo, kaiwiria, puriri, mangiao, and tupakihi constitute its ordinary bill of fare. From February to April their place is supplied by those of the tawa, matai, kahikatea, mapau, titoki, and maire.
It is worth remarking that in localities where it happens to be feeding exclusively on the pulpy fruit of the kahikatea, it is not only in very poor condition, but acquires a disagreeable flavour from the turpentine contained in the seeds.
Towards the close of this period also, the ti-palm, which comes into full bearing only at intervals of three or four years, occasionally supplies this bird with an abundant feast. These tropical-looking palms often form extensive groves in the open country or in swampy situations; and when the pigeons resort to them they are speared and snared in great numbers by the Maoris, an expert hand sometimes taking as many as sixty in a single day.
In May and June it feeds chiefly on the miro and pate, when it reaches its prime and is much sought after. From July to September it lives almost entirely on taraire in the north, and on hinau, koeka, ramarama, and other smaller berries in the south.
During the months of October, November, and December it is compelled to subsist in a great measure upon the green leaves of the kowhai Sophora tetraptera, whauhi, and of several creeping plants. It also feeds on the tender shoots of the puwha, a kind of sow-thistle; and the flesh then partakes of the bitterness of that plant.
When the bird is feeding wholly on the dark berries of the whao the colour of its flesh is said to become affected by that of the food."
References
Buller WL, A History of the birds of New Zealand, Sir Walter Lawry Buller, London 1888, The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence).
Clout MN, Hay JR, The importance of birds as browsers, pollinators and seed dispersers in New Zealand forests, New Zealand Journal of Ecology, Vol 12 (supplement) 1989.
Kelly D, Ladley JJ, Robertson AW, Anderson SH, Wotton DM, Wiser SK, Mutalisms with the wreckage of an avifauna: The status of bird pollination and fruit-dispersal in New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Ecology, (2010) 34(1): pp 66-85.
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