Takahē

South Island Takahē
Takahē and chick
Conservation status
Template:StatusEndangered
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)

The Takahē or South Island Takahē, Porphyrio hochstetteri is a flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand which belongs to the rail family. It was thought to be extinct after the "last" of - to that date - a mere 4 specimens had been taken in 1898. However, after a carefully planned search effort the bird was rediscovered by Geoffrey B. Orbell near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains, South Island, on November 20, 1948.

A related species, the North Island Takahē (P. mantelli) or mōho is extinct and only known from skeletal remains. Both forms were long assumed to be subspecies of mantelli and were usually placed in the genus Notornis. However, it has been determined that the differences between Porphyrio and Notornis were insufficient for separating the latter, whereas the differences between the North and South Island forms justifed the splitting into two species as each evolved independently towards flightlessness.

Physical Characteristics

The Takahē is the largest living member of the Rallidae; its overall length is up to 63 cm. It is stocky, with reduced wings, strong legs and a massive bill.

The adult Takahē is mainly purple-blue, with a greenish back and inner wings. It has a red frontal shield and red-based pink bill. The legs are pink. Sexes are similar, the females being slightly smaller, but young birds have mainly pale brown plumage. This is a noisy species with a loud clowp call.

A takahē feeding on a grass stalk

The Takahē is found in alpine grasslands habitats. It eats a wide range of plant food, and its diet is similar to that of the pukeko (Purple Swamphen), the closest relative of the Takahē and the Moho. The Takahē can often be seen to pluck a snow grass grass stalk, taking it into one claw and eating only the soft lower parts which is a favorite food. The rest is discarded.

This species builds a bulky nest under bushes and scrub and lays two buff eggs. It is territorial. The chick survival rate is 73-97%.

The near-extinction of the Takahē is due to a number of factors, but over-hunting, loss of habitat and introduced predators have all played a part. Since the species is long-lived, reproduces slowly, takes several years to reach maturity and had a large range that has drastically contracted in comparatively few generations, inbreeding depression is a significant problem. The recovery efforts are hampered especially by low fertility of the remaining birds; genetic analyses have been employed to select captive breeding stock in an effort to preserve the maximum genetic diversity.

Takahē parent feeding its chick

The species is still present in the location where it was rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains. Small numbers have also been successfully translocated to four predator-free offshore islands, Tiritiri Matangi, Kapiti, Maud and Mana, where they can be viewed by the public. Additionally, captive Takahē can be viewed at Te Anau and Mt Bruce wildlife centres. In June 2006 a pair of Takahē were relocated to the Maungatautari Restoration Project.

The scientific name commemorates the Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter.

References

• Rails by Taylor and van Perlo, ISBN 90-74345-20-4
• Royal Forest & Bird Society (NZ) page on Takahē
• NZ Department of Conservation page on Takahē
• Birdlife International: Takahē
• TerraNature page on Takahē