Big head, big heart

What does the tomtit share with its large-noggined brethren?

Here are five famous boneheads and big-faces that have a lot in common with our own top-heavy native bird…

Lieutenant Worf. Worf’s family were wiped out by Romulans at the Khitomer Outpost. So too are the families of many tomtits destroyed by rats and other roaming predators. At the time of writing no tomtit has enrolled in Starfleet Academy however.

Woody. Reach for the sky! The tomtit makes quick decisions and leaps into action – and its friendly manner has been loved by generations of children (just like a certain famous Pixar character).

The Moai. Many archaeologists believe the famous Easter Island statues represent the ancestors of the original sculptors. So too is the tomtit known as one of Maui’s birds, and his spirit is meant to live on in the miromiro even though his body has perished.

André the Giant. Both the male and female tomtit are dynamic and forceful in their territorial defence. And they possibly do so, much like the famous professional wrestler, with a scoop slam, butterfly suplex or double underhook facebuster.

Charlie Brown. Like the old knucklehead Charlie Brown, each year the tomtit starts their gallant, determined run at winning New Zealand Bird of the Year. Then, year after year, the ball is yanked away at the last minute by the voters. But not this year Lucy New Zealand!