Ecosanctuary educator Tahu Mackenzie said she plucked the five best takahe names from suggestions from a school and preschool near the ecosanctuary.
The chick hatched at the ecosanctuary in October after female takahe Paku (13) and male takahe Quammen (15) brooded on a fertile egg taken from Burwood Bush, near Te Anau, in September.
The shortlist was made from names given by pupils at Waitati School and Port Chalmers Kindergarten.
‘‘They're all really great,'' Ms Mackenzie said.
Waitati School principal Stacey Honeywill said the classes were given a photograph of the chick and ‘‘brainstormed'' appropriate names before voting.
The names from the school to make the shortlist were Fluffy and Tussock.
Port Chalmers Kindergarten head teacher Julie Baird said the pupils selected the names Kahurangi (Blue), Perehunga (Fluffy) and Kotahi (The First).
Kotahi was chosen in reference to the chick being the first takahe hatched in the ecosanctuary.
Ms Mackenzie said the five names were given to the Department of Conservation yesterday to check if they were unique, as no takahe could share the same name.
Doc would give a list of unique names to Southland iwi Murihiku, to choose one.
When the chick hatched, the takahe family had distinct roles - Paku feeding, as Quammen stood guard.
‘‘But now we have seen Quammen feeding the baby ... he showed the baby how to get pellets from the feeding hopper,'' Ms Mackenzie said.
The chick, whose gender was unknown, could quickly outgrow the name Fluffy, because its feathers were already changing from downy dark brown and grey to a sheer blue, more adult-type feather.
Tussock was an appropriate name because takahe ate the high-country grass.
Ms Mackenzie, who is lead singer of band Tahu and the Takahes, said her personal favourite name was Kotahi, as ‘‘it's quite cute''.
