Punaweko is the atua (gods / spiritual beings) of land birds, one of Tāne's descendants given a part of his father's domain over the forest. Little more is told of him than his name, his role and his place in the whakapapa.
When Tāne clothed his mother Papatūānuku in forest after the separation, the trees came first, and then the birds that lived in them. Kererū (wood pigeon), tūī (native honeyeater bird), kākā and pīwakawaka (fantail) all belong among Tāne's children. Punaweko holds them as his portion.
What this meant in practice was that birds were not taken carelessly. Birding was one of the most important food-gathering activities in the forest, and it was governed by tapu and rāhui (temporary prohibition on gathering). There were seasons when birds could be taken and seasons when they were left alone. The first bird taken was often returned as an offering. A hunter with any sense spoke to the guardians of the forest before taking anything with feathers.
Punaweko is said to move through the forest at the hours when birds pass between waking and sleeping, marking which trees are heavy with young and should be left that year. Where Hurumanu answers for the birds of the open sea, Punaweko answers for those among the trees.
That is the extent of the kōrero, and this telling does not add to it. Tellings differ between iwi, hapū and whānau, and local knowledge of the forest's guardians belongs with the people of each place.
Hei whakaaro (reflect / thought): before you take something from the natural world, a bird, a plant or a moment of quiet, pause and ask whether this is the season for it.
Hei whakaaro · something to sit with
I pātai ngā tīpuna i mua i te tango, nā te mea he kaitiaki tō ngā manu.
The ancestors asked before they took, because the birds had someone to answer for them.
Before you take, have you asked whether this is the season?