Pūkeko is the common name, derived from the Māori language, for the Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) of New Zealand. The subspecies occurring there is Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus, which is also found elsewhere in Australasia, including, in eastern Indonesia, the Mollucas, Aru and Kai Islands, as well as in Papua New Guinea and Australia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pukeko
Forest & Bird E-Alert
Helping you take action for your environment
The Bird of the Year poll has now opened so please cast your vote for your favourite native bird.
Previous winners include the tui (2005), fantail (2006), grey warbler (2007), kakapo (2008), kiwi (2009), kakariki (2010) and pukeko (2011).
Polling for Bird of the Year – www.birdoftheyear.org.nz – closes on October 10 at 9am.
scrapydo 
Sjoe dis ‘n mooi foto!
Dis hoekom ek hom geplaas het. Was vir my n besonderse foto
That is a handsome fellow!
It sure is. The photo shows how perfect they are. There are quite a few running around here.
He is a gorgeous bird, are they quiet (can you get close) or did you use a zoom lens?
They usually come over when you feed the wild ducks. They first need to trust you before they start coming closer. I used to feed them early in the morning while everybody was still in bed! I do not live near them anymore.This photo is not mine it is one from Forest and Birds webpage.(Wish I could take such beautiful photos)