The Tui has a small tuft of white feathers on its throat which stand out against darker feathers around it. This looks remarkably like a parson's white collar. Exactly who was the first early European to name the bird the parson bird is not recorded in history, but it was likely a member of Captain Cook's crew who would have been the first Europeans to have seen the bird and a parson to make the connection.
It is interesting that the birds will drink so much nectar they will get drunk and start singing in a boisterous way.
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