Last weekend we saw this beautiful Pūkeko wandering through some tall grass. We stopped to say hello and he gave us this look as if to say “what are you looking at!?”

According to Te Ara – “Pūkeko are closely related to takahē, but are less bulky, and can fly. Pūkeko colonised New Zealand around 1,000 years ago – whereas takahē have been evolving in the country for thousands of years. Takahē are endemic to New Zealand (found nowhere else), whereas pūkeko, also known as the purple gallinule or swamp hen, are widespread around the world. The same subspecies occurs in eastern Australia and Tasmania – presumably where the New Zealand birds originated.”

NZ Birds Online has a great profile about the Pūkeko, all about their habitat, distribution, breeding, eating habit etc, I do recommend you check it out.

Thanks for visiting. Have a beautiful day! x