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A Flash of Green
With hint of Blue
Ever so briefly seen
Through the trees it flew

Head of black
Bill cigar like, long
Thick ever so strong
But of song, a distinct lack

A shriek more like
A shrill 3 note
King, king, king
Oft is his quote

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A lone figure
Often seen
On fence post
Near a stream

From this perch
He scans the view
And with a lurch
That flash of blue

He quickly returns
From whence he left
For a fish, he yearns
Successful.. rarely bereft.

Near the seaside
On a stone
His vantage point
He sits alone

Here he will wait
For a wandering crab
To gift to his mate
A quick but successful grab

With a breast of cream
Often tinged with rust
His head top heavy
And that bill, can thrust

To make the nest
Really more, a burrow
In rotten log or clay bank
With entrance narrow

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Each bird takes it, in turn
To fly hard at the chosen site
Drilling with bill, then return
To a near perch, before next flight

The hole is drilled
With that strong beak
Birders are often thrilled
When seeing such a cyan streak

Lonely on a power line
Hunched with ruffled feather
Indicating the day so fine
Will change. foreboder of our weather

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A wonderful father and lover
He often brings a captured lizard
Snatched from his hidden cover
To his mate, and her empty gizzard

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Cicadas too and even mice
Are offered to the brood
The squawking is not nice
But distinctive, as they call for food

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So this lovely New Zealand bird
Is more beautiful when seen
Than when the raucous call is heard
Much better is, that flash of green