Dusky Moorhen

Dusky Moorhen is a bird species in the rail family and is one of the eight extant species in the moorhen genus. It occurs in Australia, New Guinea, Borneo and Indonesia. It is often confused with the purple swamphen and the Eurasian coot due to similar appearance and overlapping distributions. They often live alongside birds in the same genus, such as the Tasmanian nativehen and the common moorhen. (Wikipedia, general species account).

Its diet comprises seeds, the tips of shrubs and grasses, algae, fruits, molluscs, and other invertebrates. Chicks under the age of three months make a repeated shrill piping noise when begging, when an adult approaches with food, and when they are separated from adults. Some vagrant, non-breeding birds may be found in New Zealand as well. In Australia, they are found all across the eastern states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland as far north as Cooktown, as well as the eastern part South Australia and the south-western tip of Western Australia. (Wikipedia, general species account).