Gallery
'Intimate Tūturiwhatu
Painting description
Close-up of a Northern New Zealand Dotterel in non-breeding plumage.
About the bird
These endangered shore birds change colour in the breeding season. Another name it was commonly known by is the Red-breasted Plover. Its Maori names include Tūturiwhatu, Pukunui, and Kūkuruatu.
Artist statement
‘I am lucky enough to have encountered these birds in the wild. I treasure dawn walks taken along beaches wrapped in stillness, where the shape of a dotterel emerges from the sandy shore.’