Purple Swamphen (8/21)

GRUIFORMES: Rallidae

Porphyrio porphyrio  

A number of bird books I resort to state that the Purple Swamphen can swim but rarely does so.

I haven't seen them take to water voluntarily before and thought they might suffer from hydrophobia, but a couple of them surprised me at Karkarook Park.

It's not like it was even a hot day, and these birds aren't built for swimming, their feet being unwebbed and more suited to straddling vegetation, but here's one having a good old paddle around the pond with bottom floating high, and it wasn't the only one, and look, there's even a little bow wave.

They might not have a hope against Ian Thorpe but they'd be back in the showers before I banged my head on the end of the pool.