'Purple Swamp Hens.'
This is my entry for the Feathered Friday challenge hosted by 
Purple Swamphens (Porphyrio Porphyrio) are common throughout eastern and northern Australia. This one is doing what swamp hens do best.......wade in shallow swamps to feed or, alternatively, pause and squawk loudly at nosy photographers.
These birds are a large rail with mainly dusky black above with a broad, dark, blue colour. Their belly feathers are dark blue/purple in colour. I was delighted to come across this scene of a baby swamp hen imitating her mother on how to pull up tasty vegetation with her beak from the lake.
Their bills are robust and are red, as are their eyes and their legs. Their feet are orange/red in colour and appear to be ridiculously long in comparison to their bodies. Mother Swamp Hen was on constant watch checking for possible predators with her baby in tow.
They have the habit of flicking their tails when walking which reveals gleaming white rumps. I find them very amusing to watch.
They are accomplished fliers despite their size and when flying, their long legs and elongated toes trail beneath them.
Purple swamp hens are proficient swimmers but prefer to wander at the edge of the water amongst the reeds and floating vegetation.
Their diet consists of soft shoots of reeds, snails and frogs but they have the reputation for stealing duckling eggs.
THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.