Tasmanian Native Hen - Tribonyx mortierii

This flightless bird is endemic to Tasmania, Australia. Its feet are so 'dinosaur' like.
A large, heavy bodied, flightless bird found only in Tasmania. It is similar in shape to the Black-tailed Native-hen Tribonyx ventralia but is larger. The Tasmanian Native-hen has a large yellow bill, a red eye, brown head, back and wings and is slate grey on its underparts. The contrasting black tail is long and narrow and is flattened along the mid-line of the bird . The legs are powerful and grey in colour. Juvenile birds are similar to adults but duller.

comments (4)

Christine Young

Lion

The legs are so cool and don't seem to match the bird! Posted 4 years ago

Calbost Niel

Lion

That's what I thought Christine! Posted 4 years ago

Barry

Lion

I have long thought that if you want to "recreate" a dinosaur, a la Jurassic Park, then forget the amber and look for mutations in dinosaur-like birds. These kind of genetic back-mutations can have surprising results. In my PhD work on developmental genetics I worked with a mutation that changed 2-winged fruit flies to 4-winged versions (like Dragonflies). They have done similar things with zebras to "recreate" the extinct Quagga. Although I usually thought that the best bird to start with would be an ostrich, maybe this would be a good choice? Posted 4 years ago

Calbost Niel

Lion

What would it say if it could talk? Posted 4 years ago

The Tasmanian Nativehen

The Tasmanian Nativehen is a flightless rail and one of twelve species of birds endemic to the Australian island of Tasmania. Although many flightless birds have a history of extinction at the hands of man, the Tasmanian Nativehen has actually benefited from the introduction of European style agricultural practices in Tasmania.

Info 3 0

Similar species: Crane-like Birds

Species identified by Claire Hamilton