The forest and its products were tapu to the god Tane. This tapu was rigorously imposed and applied not only to all forest trees but in particular to those reserved for fowling purposes. Forest birds were taken according to season and under the direction of a tohunga who conducted all operations. Most esteemed were large wood pigeons ((Hemephaga novaeseelandae) which in season were accustomed to feed on the berries of the miro (Podocarpus ferrugineus). As this induced thirst in the birds, snares were set around nearby streams, and wooden troughs (waka keruru) were placed in trees and filled with water. Additional snares were set around the margins of the troughs. Wooden snaring perches (mutu kaka) were used for taking the bush parrot (Nestor occidentalis). These perches were usually operated from platforms built in the tree itself and the parrots were attracted to the spot by means of a live decoy. Bird spears furnished with barbed points, made usually from bone, were used to take bush birds. Some of these used in tall trees were as long as 30 ft.

To assist in the general operations, it was often customary for all to take annual tribal expeditions to the forest or its neighbourhood. The work was well organised. Experts attended to the snares while others kept troughs supplied with water. Birds were collected, plucked, and deboned after which they were cooked before a fire (ahi matiti), the prepared birds being spitted on straight rods. A wooden trough received the fat from the cooking birds. Cooked birds were preserved in their own fat, usually in gourd containers (taha huahua) and these were stored in the village pataka.

Three main ground birds were the weka, the kiwi, and the kakapo. Woodhens were caught by a fowler using a simple noose at the end of a stick, the birds being attracted by means of a peculiar call and the use of a lure. Kiwi and kakapo were hunted at night with dogs. Many other species of forest birds were utilised as food.