Thread: Pukeko question

Definately of the rail- crake family. Less than half the size of dabchick and am sure it was'nt banded rail as O've watched these walking on raupo along upper Waikato in the past; that was until MRP got DoC's and WRC blessing to ramp the river several feet at will. Those banded rail have gone noe along with bittern and choronomids, grey warbler and cookoos. I hunt well up a tributary where water level fluctuations and other interferences are far less. I hear the tik tik tik calls and suspect the little bird is a juvenile spotless crake or close relative. I've seen the banded rails and they are much bigger, as are dabchicks. The odd fernbird in there and plenty fantails and swallows and invertebrates, although the system is under threat from siltation coming out of Kaingaroa.