On Purple Swamphen Poem by Francis Duggan

Once seen and heard birds one never again mistake
Often see them eating grass by Pertobe Lake
Never far from water bordered by reeds nearby
Though of human kind most of them does not seem shy
When flying they never rise high in the sky
And their dark and gold legs dangle as they do fly
Mostly dark and purple with red frontal shield and a strong red bill
Their voice is quite loud and sounds rather shrill
On nest of grass hidden in water reeds three to five blotched eggs the female does lay
Though they have their secrets Nature works in this way
They eat grass by waterways bordered by reeds and wetlands and lake
Birds from once seen and heard you never again can mistake
Far larger than their cousins coots and moorhens and one of their claims to fame
Is that they are known to many purple swamphen by name.