Flightless bird Porphyrio mantelli of the rail family, order Gruiformes, native to New Zealand. It is about 60 cm/2 ft tall and weighs just over 2 kg/4.4 lb, with blue and green plumage and a red bill. The takahe was thought to have become extinct at the end of the 19th century, but in 1948 small numbers were rediscovered in the tussock grass of a mountain valley on South Island.
The stars stand for the two islands. Red recalls the struggle for independence. Yellow is said to represent the country's cocoa plantations. Effective date: 12 July 1975.