Pukeko aka Porphyrio porphyrio aka Swampbird is a common bird of East semisphere from South Europe to Australia. Australia, New Zeland and Tasmania have their own sub-specie. Pukeko belongs to the same family as Coot. Eurasian coots and their fanny chicks I have shown.
Pukeko is a Maori name. As most Rallidae, it lives near shallow water and looks like a long-legged hen. It eats everything – plants and any little living creatures. During the breeding period, they combine into small groups. They spend their days walking along marshes and lawns and eating grass and everything in the grass. Pukeko can fly, but prefer walking, and can do it very fast. This is quite prosperous specie.
Pukeko in the typical position and in a typical environment.
Feet!
Eating grass
Another swamphen that lives in New Zealand, Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri), is endemic specie. It is bigger than pukeko and doesn’t fly at all. New Zealand is a sanctuary for birds that cannot or at least doesn’t like to fly. Even buts, the only native mammals of the islands, can fly very well but prefer to walk on their short legs.
Takahe lives on South Island and becomes extinct. People try to preserve and breed them, but not very successfully. I planned to see them on the Motutapu island that is near the Rangitoto island. There is a nature reserve on the island and four takahes lived at the ranger station. And just a day before our visit to Motutapu all four birds were shooted. Hunters were hired to thin out pukeko’s population (there are no predators for them, so they reached the population density that is dangerous for their health). And the hunters in the first place killed almost tamed takahes. Said that mistook them with pukekos. So pity.
Thus, I saw them only in the zoo.
It was rainy and dark, they walked in the far end of their shelter, so the photos aren’t nice, just to make an impression.
