A man wearing a clay-coloured t-shirt with a karearea (New Zealand falcon) in flight print, seated next to New Brighton Pier.

Introducing Our New Karearea in Flight T-Shirt

January 1, 2025 / / No Comments

I’m thrilled to unveil my latest wildlife artwork. It is a t-shirt that captures the majestic flight of the Karearea. This is New Zealand’a species of native falcon.

The karearea, or the New Zealand falcon, (Falco novaeseelandiae, also known as the sparrow hawk) holds significant ecological and cultural importance in New Zealand. It is the only endemic bird of prey left. This fierce predator symbolises the resilience of native wildlife, offering a powerful representation of the country‘s bird life. Interestingly, it is most closely related to the Aplomado falcon of South America. The karearea might resemble the Australasian swamp harrier or Kahu and occupy a similar ecological niche. However, these two bird species are not closely related. This highlights the karearea’s unique evolutionary path and its critical role as an apex predator.

Check out the karearea design in action in our new YouTube Shorts video:

New karearea soaring across the chest of a t-shirt.
Read More