42 inches x 42 inches in length

Gold coque and white hen feathers, colour taken from the NZ Native Mohua bird.

The mōhua (Mōhoua ochrocephala) is a small, insect eating song-bird that was once abundant throughout the beech and podocarp forests of New Zealand’s South Island. Early explorers named the birds bush canary as they flocked in large groups and brought the forests alive with their loud melodious calls.

Distinctive for their bright yellow plumage mōhua later become known as yellowhead. Today the maori name mōhua is often used to avoid confusion with the more common yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) that has been introduced to New Zealand from Europe and is common around towns and farmland. Mōhua are now absent from 75% of their former range and continue to decline.