koitareke - Marsh Crake - Porzana pusilla
Photographed at Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, New Zealand.
"The marsh crake is one of the most secretive New Zealand birds, largely because it inhabits dense wetland vegetation, rarely ventures into the open and usually only calls at dawn or dusk and through the night. These small rails are half the size of the common blackbird but have spectacular plumage. They appear stout or dumpy because of their short tail and relatively long legs for their body size. The upper parts are rich chestnut-brown with flecks of black and white, the under parts are grey with black-and-white bars towards the flanks, the eye is bright red, the beak green and the legs olive. Very little is known of their ecology. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz
koitareke - Marsh Crake - Porzana pusilla
Photographed at Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, New Zealand.
"The marsh crake is one of the most secretive New Zealand birds, largely because it inhabits dense wetland vegetation, rarely ventures into the open and usually only calls at dawn or dusk and through the night. These small rails are half the size of the common blackbird but have spectacular plumage. They appear stout or dumpy because of their short tail and relatively long legs for their body size. The upper parts are rich chestnut-brown with flecks of black and white, the under parts are grey with black-and-white bars towards the flanks, the eye is bright red, the beak green and the legs olive. Very little is known of their ecology. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz