Swamphen

We don't have any swampy areas, but the thick grass on the road frontage is a spot that Swamphens find attractive and are seen every now and then. Today I could hear something that was unseen in the grass and then a Swamphen  Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus wandered out onto the road verge, where it spent a few minutes surveying the scene and then moved back into the grass.

 

This is the Eastern sub species that ranges through areas of Australia from northern WA down to Tasmania around swamps, the margins of rivers, lakes, farm dams, and creeks and they are also found in NZ.