The takahe bird was believed to have disappeared. It is a very rare bird that lives in the highlands on the South Island of New Zealand. It is small and flightless. She has beautiful plumage and amazing appearance. She belongs to the shepherd family and the sultanka family.
Appearance
Takahe is a rather large bird. The length of her body can reach 63 centimeters, her height is about half a meter. Body weight ranges from 2 to 4.2 kilograms. The bird’s wings are small. The pectoral muscles and keel are very poorly developed. Therefore, the wings are not adapted for flight and are used by the bird when moving along the mountain slopes.
Takahe’s legs are short and strong, red in color. The beak is also red, massive, with overlapping ends.
Feathers are silky, have an iridescent dark blue color in the head, neck, upper and lower parts of the wings. On the back and inside the wings there is a green color, the tail is olive green.
Where dwells
Most of the representatives of the takahe live near the lake called Te Anau, located in the southwest of New Zealand. In order to increase the population, a program was developed to breed takahe and move birds to islands where there are no predatory animals. Therefore, today takahe live in New Zealand on the following islands:
- Mana;
- Motutapu;
- Rotorua;
- Tiritiri-Matangi;
- Tauharanui et al.
Takahe settle in mountainous areas closer to snowy peaks or in beech forests. Their favorite place is the reed thickets. Birds move easily in shallow water and sometimes swim in water.
Lifestyle and nutrition
At night, the takahe rest, and during the day they are awake. They live on earth and have well-developed social instincts. They unite in flocks in which a strict hierarchy is observed.
As the sun rises, they come out of the thickets of tall grass and, moving along the grassy slopes, get food. The takahe diet consists of:
- cereals;
- colors;
- berries;
- herbaceous plants.
Takahe love to feast on young shoots in the spring and summer. In winter, the mountain slopes are covered with snow and birds descend into the lowlands to get fern roots from under the snow. For the bird species, takahe are centenarians: they live for 18-20 years.
How do they reproduce
In the Takahe, the couples created are monogamous and live together for the rest of their lives. In the spring, couples build nests. Mature birds occupy the nicest sites, and young birds cannot even build their nest and have to wait for the old people to die.
After the pair builds the nest, the female lays 1-3 eggs. Exactly one month both parents incubate them. Usually one chick hatches, rarely two or three. Babies are fed with snails, worms, insects. After three months, the chicks join the flock and learn to live independently. At the age of two, the takahe reaches puberty.
Such a chick
Takahe population
Beginning in the late 19th century, the takahe were believed to have become extinct. When the birds were discovered in 1948, New Zealand authorities made their habitats protected and built a center to breed them.
Today, there are approximately 280 mature birds in nature. There are 87 breeding pairs. By the end of 2008, the number of birds, due to predation, had decreased by forty percent. Due to the introduction of individuals into natural conditions, the population is gradually increasing.
Takahe are considered an endangered species, because the population growth is very slow. Recovery is difficult: bird fertility is very low. According to scientists, the number of birds continues to increase and it is possible that they will be included in the list of vulnerable species in the Red Book.
