The Australasian swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus) is a species found across eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand, where it is known as the pūkeko. It was once considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen.
The New Zealand population, along with the green-yellow swamphens from Tasmania, may be slightly larger than those on mainland Australia but are otherwise identical. When threatened, pūkekos often prefer to walk away rather than fly. When they do take flight, their take-offs and landings are rather clumsy, and they tend to fly only short distances.
The blue feathers of the pūkeko are prized in fly tying, particularly for classic night lures such as the Craig’s Night-time, Taihape Tickler, and Scotch Poacher. These feathers are used to create flat-tied wings that give the fly a large silhouette and aid in its movement through the water.
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