Tītitipounamu | Rifleman

Meet the Tītitipounamu or Rifleman

The Rifleman, or Tītitipounamu, is Aotearoa's smallest native bird - a tiny forest dweller named for the bright green plumage of the male, said to resemble the jackets of early colonial riflemen. Weighing just 6 grams, with males measuring only 7 centimetres, it is one of New Zealand's most delicate and distinctive natives.

Tītitipounamu are constantly on the move, gleaning insects from crevices and mosses along the trunks and branches of native trees. Relatively poor flyers, they move through the forest in short bursts - canopy to canopy - rather than sustained flight. Their name can be translated as "mirage of pounamu greenstone," a reference to the male's brilliant plumage, and they appear in many Māori stories as messengers of Tāne, atua of the forest.

Each Rifleman is handcrafted in Arrowtown by our Cheeky Beaks ceramics team. Shaped from white porcelain and carefully glazed, every piece captures the bird's delicate form. Small variations in glaze and finish mean no two are exactly the same.

Each piece has a threaded bolt set into the base, so it can be displayed however suits your space - perched on a post or ledge, or mounted onto an M6 rod pushed into a garden bed or pot plant.

Approx. dimensions 20(h) x 15(w) x 20(d) cm