The bird that eats berries

Theirs is the forest

The bird that eats knowledge

Theirs is the world

Fly like the tīwaiwaka

Flitting, hopping skipping away

Don’t fly like the kererū

A bird that is too fat for the long journey

Return like the hōkioi

Swaying upon the wInds of Tāwhiri

Return like the kārearea

A straight direct return

(Chorus)

Fly, Fly

Then return flying bird

Fly so that you may return

Return to your home

Fly like the rearea

able to attain the crowns of the forest giants

Don’t fly like the kīwī

Whose wings have no strength

Return like the kōtuku

The return of a single flight

Return like the kāhu

Surveyor of the world laid out below

(Repeat chorus)

Fly like the tui

Learning to sing triumphantly as you go

Don’t fly like the kākāpō

The bird that booms in the night

Return like the kōmako

Sipping nectar from flaxen flowers

Return like the tōroa

Able to attain the whole world

The bird that eats berries

Theirs is the forest

The bird that eats knowledge

Theirs is the world