RARE BIRD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 70, 23 March 1940, Page 7

RARE BIRD.

, WEST COAST FIND,

INHABITANT t)F SWAMPS. SCHOOLBOY'S DISCOVERY. Within two days of the recent heavy flood on the West Coast (states the Christchurcli "Star-Sun") a schoolboy, Paul Costcllo, of Blaketown, discovered an unusual bird, in the early morning, in an Blaketown Lagoon, and its appearance indicated that it was in an exhausted condition. He took it home and revived it, and then took it to Mr. E. L. Kehoe of the teaching staff of the Greymouth Technical High School for identification.

It was discovered by Mr. Kelioe that the bird was a young Marsh Rail, which have been rare on the West Coast, and there is no record of them over the past three decades and a half. ! A pliotograph on this page gives a fair idea of the type of bird, which has manv unusual characteristics and habits. This particular bird was hardly the size of a starling. The photograph shows the.bird perched on the index finger of a man's hand. The colourings are dull green beak with a clear hole Tight through the middle of the beak from side to side. The eyes are red. •with the plumage on the back a dull brown, with darker stripes much resembling a- wcka. The breast is also dull brown with stripb.gs. The stomach feathers and under-tail of the bird .'ire speckled 'black arid white, much the same as the breast of a shining cuckoo The legs are dark brown in colour with very large unwebbed feet after the type of the fedt of a pukeko. Lives .in Swamps. The Marsh Rail inhabits swamps and marshv places. It is poor flyer, but is a fast swimmer despite its unwebbed feet, and is mainly nocturnal in ithabits. It has a poor wing spread lor a bird of its si*e. The Mar* Had £ known to exist in several other parts of Xew Zealand, but is seldom seen

owing to its natural camouflage. It lias been known to inhabit Canterbury in particular where there is a good ileal of marsh land?, but so far as the West I Coast is concerned there is no record lof its existence.

The young Marsh Kail shown above was liberated in a swamp handy to Grcymoutli after fully recovering from its fatigue. When it "was placed hi the swamp, its natural surroundings, it was extremely difficult to detect it from a few paces away, and from a distance of 20ft it could not be defined at all, so perfect was the- camouflage of the plumage.