Oh morepork, though you summon me
From sentry post in yonder tree
I wonder what your thoughts would be
If I did eat your family

And there, the lamp post shines so bright
And tempts your dinner to its light
So turn your wee head so I might
Steal all your eggs into the night.

Regards,
The Tuatara

* Mundane explanation bit: A morepork, otherwise known as a Ruru in the Maori language, is a wee nocturnal owl who sounds like he’s saying ‘Morepork! Morepork!’ when he calls. The tuatara, meaning ‘peaks on the back’ in Maori, is a lizard endemic to New Zealand, from a very old species dating back to the dinosaurs. It’s often referred to as a ‘living dinosaur’. I have no idea whether a tuatara would eat a morepork’s eggs, given the chance. I was just being silly.

A Morepork. Photo courtesy of ‘in paradise’, Flikr.