Takahē

The takahē or South Island takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a bird. It lives in New Zealand. It is a rail bird. That means it is in the family Rallidae. It is the largest living rail in the world. The takahe cannot fly.[3]

Takahē
On Tiritiri Matangi Island

Nationally Vulnerable (NZ TCS)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Rallidae
Genus: Porphyrio
Species:
P. hochstetteri
Binomial name
Porphyrio hochstetteri
(A. B. Meyer, 1883)
     Distribution of South Island takahe, including sanctuaries
Synonyms
  • Notornis mantelli hochstetteri
  • Porphyrio mantelli hochstetteri

This bird looks like a pūkeko, but it is bigger, it has more color, and it cannot fly. Adults are 2.3 – 3.8 kg. They have red legs and a red beak. Their feathers are different shades of blue and green: Dark blue on the head and neck, lighter blue on the shoulders. The feathers on the wings and back can be iridescent, which means they shine. Takahē cannot fly, but they wave their wings at each other when they are angry or want to mate.[3]

Takahē live in grassy places. They eat the starchy parts of grassy plants: tussock and sedge plants. In the winter, they go to the forests and look for food there.[3]

Wild Takahē can live for 16 - 18 years, a little longer in zoos.[3]

The specific scientific name commemorates the Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter.

Threats

For a long time, people thought this bird was dead. In 1948, Geoffrey Orbell found some takahē in the Murchison Mountains in Fiordland. Human beings started raising the chicks and then letting them go in good places. In 2007, stoats killed many of the birds in the mountains. As of 2017, there are about 300 takahē in New Zealand.

Animals that humans brought to New Zealand can kill and eat this bird. For example, humans brought stoats to New Zealand, and they eat eggs, chicks, and larger birds. Human beings also change the places where they like to live.[3]

The North Island takahē is extinct.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2013). "Porphyrio hochstetteri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. "Porphyrio hochstetteri". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 2020-02-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "Takahē". New Zealand Department of Conservation. Retrieved September 26, 2022.


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