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Forest and Bird/STUDIO C
The takahē and red-crowned kākāriki get a Warriors makeover.
Forest and Bird have joined the Up The Wahs chorus by giving a couple of Bird of the Century native birds entrants a makeover.
The Warriors will be hoping to ruffle feathers during the NRL preliminary final against the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday. To mark the team’s success Forest and Bird – which runs the annual Bird of the Year competition – has dressed up the takahē and red-crowned kākāriki in the NZ-based team’s colours.
“With their spectacular plumage matching the Warriors’ jerseys, we reckon the takahē and red-crowned kākāriki are the perfect pair to hoot and cheep ‘UP THE WAHS’ as they cheer on Aotearoa’s NRL team,” the organisation tweeted.
“Wingtips and claws crossed for a victory this Saturday.”
Forest and Bird asked StudioC to create the im-peck-able Warriors plumage. It was illustrated by designer Rachael Thompson, with StudioC founder Celeste Skachill saying it was a “wildcard request”.
“The takahē and red-crowned kākāriki are in the home and away shirts standing on a league ball. It was a bit of fun, but nature visual storytelling is our jam,” Skachill said.
Forest and Bird also asked what native bird sports fans would pick “as a mascot for your favourite sports team”.
This year, the organisation is running the the Bird of the Century competition and in a post to Instagram, it asked the Warriors who they would pick.
“Takahē are pretty tough, but we’re not sure how good their ball-handling skills are…”
Iain McGregor/Stuff
Takahē are tough but what about their ball-handling skills?
Forest and Bird communications manager Lynn Freeman said the Warriors idea took just 24 hours to hatch.
“Times are tough so it’s nice to have a laugh sometimes,” she said.
“Sport captures the hearts and minds in ways arts… and conservation struggle to, so we wanted to be a bit different… and quirky. And please vote for Bird of the Century.”
Freeman said some feathered natives would also get an All Blacks makeover if the team progressed through to the Rugby World Cup finals in France, but wouldn’t reveal which birds.
“[The All Blacks] have to win to find out … no pressure,” she laughed.
According to Forest and Bird, the takahē was thought to be extinct for 50 years until 1948. It is still considered to be “in serious trouble”, while the red-crowned kākāriki are considered “in some trouble” and are “pretty rare” on the mainland, unless you live in Wellington, thanks to the efforts of Zealandia.
Voting opens for Bird of the Century on October 30.
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