CreatureData

Takahē

Porphyrio hochstetteri (A. B. Meyer, 1883)

ENEndangeredbirds

The takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a species in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes. Recorded adults weigh 2.27 kg to 2.67 kg and live up to 12 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri)
Photo: Porphyrio_hochstetteri_-Tiritiri_Matangi_Island-8b.jpg : Ashleigh Thompson… · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the takahē

Weight
2.27 kg – 2.67 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
12 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
28 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the takahē live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The takahē is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the takahē?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The South Island takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently (14th century) extinct North Island takahē. The two takahē species are also known as notornis.

Takahē were hunted extensively by both early European settlers and Māori, and takahē bones have been found in middens in the South Island. Fossil remains have also been found across the South Island. They were not named and described by Europeans until 1847, and then only from fossil bones. In 1850 a living bird was captured, and three more collected in the 19th century. After another bird was captured in 1898, and no more were to be found, the species was presumed extinct. Fifty years later, however, after a carefully planned search, South Island takahē were dramatically rediscovered in November 1948 by Geoffrey Orbell in an isolated valley in the South Island's Murchison Mountains. The species is now managed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, whose Takahē Recovery Programme maintains populations on several offshore islands as well as Takahē Valley. Takahē has been reintroduced to numerous locations across the country. Although South Island takahē are still a threatened species, their NZTCS status was downgraded in 2016 from Nationally Critical to Nationally Vulnerable. As of 2023, the population is around 500 and is growing by 8 percent per year.

From the Wikipedia article “Takahē” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Takah%C4%93&oldid=1384981321), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the takahē endangered?

The takahē is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.

How is the takahē classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGruiformes
  5. familyRallidae
  6. genusPorphyrio
  7. SpeciesPorphyrio hochstetteri (A. B. Meyer, 1883)

Synonyms Mantellornis hochstetteri, Notornis hochstelleri, Notornis hochstetteri, Notornis mantelli hochstetteri, Porphyrio hochstetteri hochstetteri, Porphyrio mantelli hochstetteri, Porphyrio mantelli mantelli

Other names and names in other languages (45)
  • NotornisEnglish
  • South island TakaheEnglish
  • South island TakaheEnglish
  • South island TakahēEnglish
  • TakaheEnglish
  • TakaheEnglish
  • تاكاهيArabic
  • ماووريArabic
  • Южно такахеBulgarian
  • takahe de l'illa SudCatalan
  • Slípka takaheCzech
  • slípka novozélandskáCzech
  • Sydø TakaheDanish
  • Sydlig TakaheDanish
  • SüdinseltakaheGerman
  • sudinsula porfirioEsperanto
  • Calamón takaheSpanish
  • takahe (lõuna-sultantait)Estonian
  • تاکاهیPersian
  • Takahé du SudFrench
  • Talève takahéFrench
  • טאקאההHebrew
  • krupnokljuna sultankaCroatian
  • タカヘJapanese
  • タカへ（ノトルニス）Japanese
  • ナントウタカヘJapanese
  • 타카헤Korean
  • takašė sultonvištėLithuanian
  • റ്റക്കായിMalayalam
  • ZuidereilandtakaheDutch
  • sørtakaheNorwegian
  • takahe południowyPolish
  • ٹاکاہیWestern Panjabi
  • TacaéPortuguese
  • caimão-takahe-do-sulPortuguese
  • tacaé-do-sulPortuguese
  • takahePortuguese
  • ТакахеRussian
  • sultánka novozélandskáSlovak
  • sydötakaheSwedish
  • Güney Adası SazhorozuTurkish
  • такахе південнийUkrainian
  • 南秧雞Chinese
  • 南岛秧鸡Chinese
  • 南島青水雞Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the takahē

Other species in the same genus Porphyrio.

CompareTakahē vs Western swamphenTakahē vs American purple gallinuleTakahē vs Gray-headed swamphenTakahē vs Allen's gallinule

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the takahē?

An adult takahē weighs 2.27 kg – 2.67 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the takahē live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the takahē for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the takahē endangered?

The takahē is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

How long does the takahē live?

The takahē has a recorded lifespan of 12 years.

What kind of animal is the takahē?

The takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) belongs to the family Rallidae in the order Gruiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/takah

MLA

“Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/takah.

BibTeX
@misc{takah_2026,
  title = {Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/takah},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}