The pūkeko

The pūkeko (Porphyrio melanotus melanotus) is common in the southwest Pacific and in Australia, they’re called the Australasian swamphen. The genus name, Porphyrio, is Latin for purple, and Porphyrio melanotus is regarded as a member of the “Purple swamphen complex”, a half a dozen similar that are found in southern Europe, Africa and Asia. They’re all about chicken-sized, with the chunky beak and red frontal shield of this guy and are, by and large, more blue than purple. Before anyone goes thinking too much down the chicken path, bear in mind that the traditional recipe is to cook them in a pot of water with a gumboot  for several days before discarding the pūkeko and eating the gumboot.