Hawkins's rail, also called the giant Chatham Island rail or in Moriori as mehonui, is an extinct species of flightless rail. It was endemic to the Chatham Islands east of New Zealand. It is known to have existed only on the main islands of Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Hawkins's rail was the largest terrestrial bird native to the Chatham Islands, around 40 centimetres (16 in) tall and weighing about 2 kilograms (4.4 lb). It had a long, downward curving beak. Historic accounts likely referring to the bird by the name "mehonui" suggest that it was red-brown in colour, and it has been compared to the weka in ecological habits, using its beak to probe decaying wood for invertebrates. Hawkins's rail likely became extinct due to overhunting by the islands native inhabitants, the Moriori, and the bird is known from skeletal remains found in their kitchen middens.
Region
Chatham Islands, South Pacific
Typical Environment
Endemic to the main Chatham Islands where it occupied dense coastal scrub, forest margins, and fernland. It foraged on the ground, probing rotting logs, peat, and leaf litter for invertebrates. Fossil and midden records indicate it was widespread on Chatham and Pitt Islands but absent from smaller outliers. Being flightless, it was tied to continuous ground cover and avoided open, exposed areas.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 250 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also known as the giant Chatham Island rail and called mehonui by the Moriori, Hawkins's rail was a large, flightless rail endemic to the Chatham Islands. It stood about 40 cm tall and weighed around 2 kg, probing decaying wood and leaf litter with a long, downcurved bill to find invertebrates. It likely went extinct due to overhunting by early island inhabitants, as evidenced by bones in kitchen middens.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
flightless; prefers running through dense cover
Social Behavior
Presumed to have been secretive, remaining within thick understory and sheltering under logs and shrub tangles. Likely nested on the ground, as with many rails, with both sexes potentially involved in incubation and chick care. Activity centered on foraging in damp microhabitats rich in invertebrates.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are not recorded; rails of similar ecology give low grunts, clucks, and booming calls. It likely used soft contact calls within dense vegetation and louder alarm notes when disturbed.
