It was a real surprise egg. In late December, a Takahe chick, a rare native flightless bird, was born in New Zealand’s Zealandia Nature Reserve. What made the birth so special was the supposed infertility of the parents. The man, Bendigo, had failed to sire chicks with two previous partners. The caregivers already suspected in October that something had happened to his newest partner Waitaa, because she suddenly stopped showing herself. A few weeks later they heard chirping coming from dense undergrowth. They placed a wildlife camera and took the first images of the chick.
Adult takahe’s look like real primeval birds, with high red legs and a sharp, triangular beak. From the front, the 50 centimeter birds look “like a model of the Earth on stilts,” said the British newspaper The Guardianwho was the first to gain access to photos of the newborn chick. The species is related to the European purple coot.
The family expansion is good news for the vulnerable bird species. The birds were once numerous in New Zealand, but by the early 1900s they were thought to be extinct. The takahe was only rediscovered in 1948 – now the number of birds is around 500, the vast majority of which live in zoos and reserves. In 2023, eighteen takahe were released into the wild on New Zealand’s South Island. The as yet unnamed chick will continue to live with its parents in a closed part of the Zealandia reserve for the time being.
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