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Story: Land birds – overview

Takahē

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Takahē

The takahē and the pūkeko or purple swamp hen are related. After the ancestors of takahē arrived in New Zealand, probably by flying from the west, their descendants became flightless over many thousands of years, evolving into the endemic takahē.

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by Penny Carnaby

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How to cite this page

Kerry-Jayne Wilson, Land birds – overview – Flightless land birds, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9890/takahe (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Kerry-Jayne Wilson, published 1 March 2009.