The Department of Conservation is celebrating a record breeding season for the critically endangered takahē.
Takahē are a large member of the rail family. Photo: (Kathrin & Stefan Marks CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
DOC's Takahe Breeding Programme produced 50 chicks this year, while 16 hatchings were recorded in the wild population in the Murchison Mountains.
The combined total of 66 was a 40 percent increase on last year's record of 47.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry said takahē, once thought extinct, reached a population milestone of 300 last year.