New Zealand

Author: Compiled by Zhu Chaowei of the American Corbisstone Publishing Company
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The demigod hero Maui sits in a canoe and forcefully drags a large fish from the sea. This canoe later became the South Island, while the giant fish became the large, wingless bird of today's North Island, the parrot that burrows under tree roots, the rare bird with a dazzling red beak and blue-green feathers, and the lizard that lives for hundreds of years—these are the bizarre creatures that grow in New Zealand. The Maori (meaning "local people") now specifically refers to the indigenous people of New Zealand. The kiwi, in the Maori language, originally referred to long-beaked, wingless birds, but now the term not only refers to the kiwi bird but also humorously refers to New Zealanders.