Bar-tailed godwits, or kuaka, are famous for their incredible non-stop migration – the longest of any bird, flying from Alaska to New Zealand without a break. These elegant waders with long upturned bills gather in flocks in estuaries, feeding on shellfish and worms before their return journey north each autumn.
The population of subspecies baueri (eastern bar-tailed godwit ) is likely less than 150,000 birds, 75,000 of which occur in New Zealand. As with other migratory species using the East Asian Australasian Flyway, bar-tailed godwits face a real and potent threat from habitat loss, particularly at critical migration stopover sites in the Yellow Sea region.
Godwits hold cultural significance for many New Zealanders. For Maori they were birds of mystery, (‘Kua kite te kohanga kuaka? Who has seen the nest of the kuaka?’) and were believed to accompany spirits of the departed; but they were also a source of food.
Source: https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/bar-tailed-godwit