Takahē

Takahē
On Tiritiri Matangi Island
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Nationally Vulnerable (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Gruiformes
Family:	Rallidae
Genus:	Porphyrio
Species:	P. hochstetteri
Binomial name
Porphyrio hochstetteri (A. B. Meyer, 1883)
Distribution of South Island takahe, including sanctuaries
Synonyms
Notornis mantelli hochstetteri Porphyrio mantelli hochstetteri

The Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand and belonging to the rail family. It was thought to be extinct after the last four known specimens were taken in 1898. However, after a carefully planned search effort the bird was rediscovered by Geoffrey Orbell near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains, South Island, on November 20, 1948. The specific scientific name commemorates the Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter.