The South Island Takahe is a large, stocky, flightless rail found only in New Zealand and one of the great conservation stories of the twentieth century. Heavy-bodied and brightly coloured, with deep blue and green plumage and a massive scarlet bill, it is the largest living member of the rail family and a survivor from an ancient New Zealand fauna dominated by flightless birds.
The species was believed extinct for around fifty years until it was famously rediscovered in the remote Murchison Mountains of Fiordland in 1948. Since then an intensive recovery programme involving predator control, captive rearing and translocation to predator-free islands and sanctuaries has slowly rebuilt the population from the brink.
The takahe is unmistakable: a very large, rotund rail with iridescent deep blue underparts, an olive-green back, a huge triangular red bill that extends as a red frontal shield onto the forehead, and stout pinkish-red legs. It cannot fly. It closely resembles its relative the Pukeko but is far bulkier, heavier and shorter-legged.
| Size | Very large and heavy for a rail, around 63 cm and up to 3 kg |
| Plumage | Iridescent deep blue below, olive-green on the back and wings |
| Bill | Massive, triangular and scarlet, with a red frontal shield on the forehead |
| Legs | Stout and pinkish-red |
| Flight | Flightless; wings used mainly in courtship and threat display |
| Build | Rounded and robust, much bulkier than the similar Pukeko |
Takahe are quite vocal. They give a loud, resonant contact call, a slow drawn-out boom or coo, along with sharper alarm notes and soft contact sounds between pair members and family groups. Calls carry well across the open tussock basins where the birds live and help pairs keep contact in tall grassland.
Historically the species ranged widely across the South Island of New Zealand. Today the only naturally surviving wild population is in the alpine tussock grasslands of the Murchison Mountains in Fiordland, supplemented by managed populations established on predator-free islands and in fenced mainland sanctuaries. It favours native tussock grassland in summer and moves to forest and scrub in harsh winter conditions.
The takahe is largely vegetarian, specialising in native tussock grasses. It pulls up a tiller, grips it in one foot and eats the soft, nutritious leaf bases, discarding the tougher blades. It also eats the shoots, seeds and starchy bases of other grasses and sedges, and in winter turns to fern rhizomes and forest plants when snow covers the tussock.
Pairs are long-lived and territorial, building a bulky nest of woven grass concealed in dense tussock. The female usually lays one to three buff, blotched eggs, and both parents incubate for around thirty days. Typically only one chick is successfully raised each year; the young are fed by both parents and stay with them for many months, learning to handle tough tussock.
- Pukeko: Slimmer, flying relative with the same blue and red colour scheme but long legs and a lighter build
- Australasian Swamphen: The wider species group to which the Pukeko belongs, similar in colour but able to fly and far less bulky
- Weka: Another large flightless New Zealand rail, but brown and cryptically patterned rather than blue
Wasn't the takahe extinct?
It was widely believed extinct after the last known specimens in the late nineteenth century, but a small population was dramatically rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains of Fiordland in 1948, prompting one of New Zealand's longest running recovery programmes.
Can the takahe fly?
No. It is completely flightless. Its wings are small relative to its heavy body and are used mainly for balance and in courtship and threat displays.
How is the takahe different from the Pukeko?
The Pukeko, or Australasian Swamphen, is a slimmer, long-legged relative that can fly. The takahe is far bulkier, heavier and flightless, with a much more massive bill and stouter legs.
How many South Island Takahe are left?
The population numbers in the low hundreds and is slowly increasing under intensive management, but the species remains Endangered and dependent on predator control and managed sites.