The South Island takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a flightless bird native to New Zealand and the largest living member of the rail family. It is often called simply "takahē," a name it shares with the recently extinct North Island takahē. These two species are also known as notornis.

Takahē were hunted heavily by early European settlers and the Māori people. Takahē bones have been found in middens, which are shell heaps left behind by people, in the South Island. Fossil remains of takahē have also been discovered across the South Island. Europeans did not name or describe the takahē until 1847, using only fossil bones. In 1850, a living takahē was captured, and three more were collected during the 19th century. After another bird was found in 1898 and none were seen again, the species was thought to be extinct. However, in 1948, South Island takahē were rediscovered by Geoffrey Orbell in a remote valley in the Murchison Mountains of the South Island.

Today, the New Zealand Department of Conservation manages the takahē. Its Takahē Recovery Programme helps maintain populations on several offshore islands and in Takahē Valley. The bird has been reintroduced to many areas across New Zealand. Although the South Island takahē is still a threatened species, its conservation status was improved in 2016 from "Nationally Critical" to "Nationally Vulnerable." As of 2023, there are about 500 takahē, and their population grows by 8 percent each year.

Scientific description and naming

In 1847, fossil bird bones were discovered in South Taranaki on the North Island by collector Walter Mantell. He sent them to anatomist Richard Owen, who studied the bones and, in 1848, gave the bones the scientific name Notornis ("southern bird"). He named the species Notornis mantelli. At the time, Western scientists believed the bird was another extinct species, like the moa.

Two years later, in 1850, a group of sealers in Tamatea / Dusky Sound, Fiordland, saw a large bird. They chased it with dogs and captured it. The bird ran quickly, screamed loudly, and fought when caught. It lived for three or four days on the ship before being killed. The crew ate the bird and said the meat was delicious. Walter Mantell met the sealers and obtained the bird’s skin. He sent it to his father, Gideon Mantell, a scientist who studied fossils. Gideon realized the bird was Notornis, a species only known from fossil bones. He presented the skin to the Zoological Society of London in 1850. A second specimen was sent to Gideon in 1851. This bird was caught by Māori on Secretary Island, Fiordland. Māori knew about the bird and traveled far to hunt it. The bird’s name, takahē, comes from the Māori word takahi, meaning "to stamp or trample."

Only two more takahē were collected by Europeans in the 19th century. One was caught in 1879 when a dog on Lake Te Anau’s eastern shore grabbed it. The bird was bought by the State Museum of Zoology in Dresden, Germany, for £105. It was destroyed during World War II when Dresden was bombed. Another takahē was caught in 1898 by a dog named "Rough," owned by a man named Jack Ross on Lake Te Anau’s shore. Ross tried to save the female bird but failed. He gave it to William Benham, a museum curator, who displayed it at Otago Museum. The bird was in excellent condition and purchased by the New Zealand government for £250. It became the only takahē on display in New Zealand and the only one shown anywhere in the world for many years.

After 1898, people reported seeing large blue-and-green birds, described as "giant pukakis" (a type of waterbird). Some groups chased the birds but could not catch them. These birds were said to be the size of geese, with blue-green feathers and the speed of a racehorse. However, no sightings were confirmed, and no live birds were found. Scientists believed the takahē was extinct, as only fossil bones had been collected.

Taxonomy and systematics

The third takahē specimen was sent to the Königlich Zoologisches und Anthropologisch-Ethnographisches Museum in Dresden. The museum's director, Adolf Bernhard Meyer, studied the skeleton while working on his classification of birds in Abbildungen von Vogelskeletten (1879–1895). He noticed enough differences between the Fiordland bird and Owen's North Island specimen to classify them as separate species. He named the Fiordland bird Notornis hochstetteri, after the Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter.

During the second half of the 20th century, the two Notornis species were classified as subspecies: Notornis mantelli mantelli in the North Island and Notornis mantelli hochstetteri in the South. These were later grouped into the same genus as the closely related Australasian swamphen or pūkeko (Porphyrio porphyrio), becoming a subspecies of Porphyrio mantelli. Pūkeko are part of a widespread swamphen species, but fossil evidence shows they arrived in New Zealand only a few hundred years ago, after Polynesians first settled the islands.

A study comparing the physical traits and genetic material of living and extinct Porphyrio species confirmed that the North and South Island takahē were separate species, as originally proposed by Meyer. The North Island species (P. mantelli, described by Owen) was known to Māori as moho. It is now extinct and only known from skeletal remains and one possible specimen. Moho birds were taller and more slender than takahē and share a common ancestor with living pūkeko. Earlier, it was thought the two takahē species were unrelated, but a 2024 genetic study showed they are closely related and likely descended from a single ancestor that arrived in New Zealand. The split between the two species is estimated to have occurred about 4 to 1.5 million years ago.

Allen's gallinule (Porphyrio alleni)
Azure gallinule (Porphyrio flavirostris)
American purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica)
Black-backed swamphen (Porphyrio indicus)
Western swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
African swamphen (Porphyrio madagascariensis)
South Island takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri)
† North Island takahē / Moho (Porphyrio mantelli)
Grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus)
Philippine swamphen (Porphyrio pulverulentus)
Australasian swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus)

Rediscovery

On November 20, 1948, living South Island takahē were found again during an expedition led by a doctor from Invercargill named Geoffrey Orbell near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains. The expedition began after people saw footprints of an unknown bird near Lake Te Anau. Two takahē were captured, but they were released back into the wild after pictures were taken of the rediscovered bird.

Description

The South Island takahē is the largest living bird in the family Rallidae. It is about 63 cm (25 in) long, and males weigh around 2.7 kg (6.0 lb), while females weigh about 2.3 kg (5.1 lb). The weight can vary between 1.8–4.2 kg (4.0–9.3 lb). A takahē can live for 18 years in the wild or up to 22 years in animal sanctuaries. It stands about 50 cm (20 in) tall. The bird is strong and muscular, with short, powerful legs and a large, strong beak that can cause pain if touched. Though it cannot fly, it sometimes uses its small wings to climb slopes.

The takahē has feathers, beaks, and legs that match the colors of gallinules. Adult feathers are soft and shiny, appearing dark-blue or navy-blue on the head, neck, and underparts, and peacock blue on the wings. The back and inner wings are teal and green, turning olive-green near the tail, which is white underneath. The bird has a bright red area on its forehead and a beak that is red with patterns of red shades. Its legs are bright red, described by early rediscoverers as "crayfish-red."

Male and female takahē look very similar, though females are slightly smaller and may have frayed tail feathers when nesting. Baby takahē are born with black, fluffy feathers and large brown legs, along with a dark, white-tipped beak. Young takahē have duller colors than adults, with dark beaks that turn red as they grow older.

South Island takahē are vocal birds. They make a warning call called "womph," described by rediscoverers as sounding like someone "whistling to them over a .303 cartridge case." They also make a loud "clowp" call. Their contact call is similar to that of the weka (Gallirallus australis) but is usually deeper and more resonant.

Behaviour and ecology

The South Island takahē is a bird that cannot fly and stays in one place. It lives in alpine grasslands and protects its area. When snow arrives, it moves to forests or scrubland. It eats grass, plant shoots, and insects, but prefers the leaves of Chionochloa tussocks and other alpine grasses. Often, the bird picks a stalk of snow grass (Danthonia flavescens), holds it in one claw, and eats only the soft lower parts, leaving the rest behind.

A South Island takahē was seen eating a paradise duckling at Zealandia. This behavior was not known before, but a related bird, the Australasian swamphen or pūkeko, sometimes eats eggs or young birds.

The South Island takahē forms long-term pairs, staying with a partner from 12 years old until the end of their lives. It builds a large nest under bushes or scrub and lays one to three buff-colored eggs. The survival rate of chicks is between 25% and 80%, depending on where they live.

Distribution and habitat

The takahē prefers to live in alpine grasslands. The species is still found in the area where it was rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains. Small numbers have been moved to five predator-free offshore islands: Tiritiri Matangi, Kapiti, Maud, Mana, and Motutapu. These islands allow the public to see the birds. Captive takahē can also be viewed at Te Anau and Pūkaha / Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centres. In June 2006, a pair of takahē was relocated to the Maungatautari Restoration Project. In September 2010, a pair of takahē (Hamilton and Guy) was released at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, the first non-Department of Conservation institution to hold this species. In January 2011, two takahē were released in Zealandia, Wellington. In mid-2015, two more takahē were released on Rotoroa Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Takahē have also been relocated to the Tawharanui Peninsula. In 2014, two pairs of takahē were released into Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary, a private fenced area near Taupō. The first chick was born there in November 2015. By October 2017, 347 takahē were accounted for, an increase of 41 from 2016. The Orokonui Ecosanctuary is home to one breeding pair, Quammen and Paku. These birds successfully raised two chicks in 2018, but both died from exposure after heavy rains in November 2018. The deaths caused debate about the Ecosanctuary’s "non-interference" policy. In 2018, eighteen South Island takahē were reintroduced to Kahurangi National Park, 100 years after their local extinction. Following the 2018 release, a second reintroduction took place in August 2023 on Te Waipounamu. Eighteen takahē were released in the Upper Whakatipu Waimāori Valley at Ngāi Tahu-owned Greenstone Station. Later that year, in October, six more takahē were released on the same property.

Status and conservation

The near extinction of the once widespread South Island takahē is due to several reasons: over-hunting, loss of habitat, and introduced predators. Red deer (Cervus elaphus) compete for food, while stoats (Mustela erminea) hunt takahē. The expansion of forests during the post-glacial Pleistocene–Holocene period reduced takahē habitat. Because takahē are K-selected species, meaning they live long, reproduce slowly, take many years to mature, and had a large range that shrank quickly, inbreeding is a major issue. Recovery is difficult because the remaining birds have low fertility. Genetic studies help choose breeding birds to keep genetic diversity as high as possible.

Williams (1962) and Mills et al. (1984) suggested that climate changes before European settlement caused takahē numbers to drop. Environmental conditions before European arrival were unsuitable for takahē, which are adapted to alpine grasslands. Post-glacial warming reduced their habitat. Polynesian settlers, who arrived about 800–1,000 years ago, brought dogs and rats, hunted takahē, and caused another decline. European settlers in the 19th century nearly wiped out takahē through hunting and by introducing deer, which competed for food, and stoats, which preyed on them.

Today, takahē are protected in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand’s largest park. However, their population dropped from 400 to 118 between 1948 and 1982 due to competition with deer. Conservationists now control deer using helicopters to reduce their numbers.

The rediscovery of takahē in 1948 sparked public interest. The New Zealand government protected a remote area of Fiordland National Park to avoid disturbing the birds. At first, some groups wanted to let takahē survive on their own, but others feared they would go extinct like the huia. Interventionists proposed moving takahē to safe islands and breeding them in captivity. No action was taken for nearly a decade due to limited resources and disagreements.

The Burwood Takahē Breeding Centre, opened in 1985 near Te Anau, initially raised chicks by hand using puppets to mimic adult sounds and fibreglass replicas of adults to prevent imprinting on humans. These methods stopped in 2011.

Biologists created safe habitats on islands like Maud Island, Mana Island, Kapiti Island, and Tiritiri Matangi Island. These efforts have increased takahē numbers, but the population may struggle with inbreeding and low genetic diversity.

Conservationists now help takahē reproduce by removing infertile eggs and raising chicks in captivity. These methods improved breeding success: 0.66 chicks per pair with management, compared to 0.43 without.

Some takahē have been accidentally killed by hunters hired to control pūkeko, a similar-looking bird. One was killed in 2009, and four more in 2015—5% of the total population.

Since the 1980s, takahē have been moved to predator-free islands where they receive extra food. They now live on five islands, including Maud Island, Mana Island, Kapiti Island, Tiritiri Matangi Island, and Motutapu Island. The Burwood Breeding Centre has 25 breeding pairs, and their offspring are released to wild populations.

Conservationists also manage wild nests to help takahē recover. Deer control in Fiordland National Park has reduced deer numbers, allowing alpine vegetation to recover. This has improved takahē breeding and survival. Research continues to study whether stoats pose a significant threat.

Population

One of the main long-term goals was to create a population of more than 500 South Island takahē that can grow on its own. In 2013, there were 263 takahē. By 2016, the number increased to 306. In 2017, the population grew to 347, which was a 13% increase from the previous year. In 2019, the population reached 418. As of 2023, the population is about 500.