What is the name of the Maori legendary giant bird?

The Māori legendary giant bird is called Te Pouākai, also commonly written pouākai or poukai.

In Māori tradition, the pouākai was a monstrous bird of prey said in some stories to attack and eat people. The name is especially associated with South Island traditions, where the bird is also called Te Pouākai. Its reputation as a terrifying man-eater helped preserve the memory of an unusually large eagle in Māori oral history.

Many researchers connect the legend with Haast’s eagle, an extinct New Zealand raptor that was the largest known eagle species. It could prey on giant moa, some of which weighed up to roughly 230 kilograms, so a bird capable of killing large animals may have inspired stories of attacks on humans. Haast’s eagle survived into the period after Māori settlement and disappeared after habitat loss and the decline of its prey.

The moa is a common mix-up: moa were large flightless birds and prey, not the legendary giant predator. Taniwha are supernatural beings often associated with waterways, while Te Hōkioi is another name connected with giant-bird traditions in some regions.