By Ellen Rykers: The bittern's eerie, booming call sounds like a lament, a tangi ringing across the marshes. Now, the birds themselves are in trouble

This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend.

This week, 'The grief bird' - a story by Ellen Rykers about the conservation effort to save the Australasian bittern or matuku.

You can read the full story, plus see photographs from Craig McKenzie, in the November-December issue of New Zealand Geographic magazine, or on their website.

The bittern's eerie, booming call sounds like a lament, a tangi ringing across the marshes. Now, the birds themselves are in trouble.

With the wetlands they once called home being depleted, starving wayward bitterns are being led into the path of cars, predator birds, and the grips of starvation.

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Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details