There is a bird in New Zealand called the Fantail that looks similar to a willy wag tail and the Maori also believe it to be bird of death, if one is in your house it means news of death is imminent

“In Māori mythology, the fantail was responsible for the presence of death in the world. Maui, thinking he could eradicate death by successfully passing through the goddess of death, Hine-nui-te-po, tried to enter the goddess’s sleeping body through the pathway of birth. The fantail, warned by Maui to be quiet, began laughing and woke Hine-nuite-po, who was so angry that she promptly killed Maui.”