The Secret Finfoot

This week we are going out on the water, looking for some web-footed birds.

These birds are very uncommon, secretive, and considered endangered in many areas. There are only three species in this kind, and each is found on a different continent. They are comfortable in slow-moving water or ponds in the forests they call home, though sometimes they will leave the forest to find a place to live.1 They prefer areas with overhanging vegetation that they can hide under if threatened.2 They feed almost entirely in the water and have a broad diet.3

Nesting takes place in the overhanging vegetation of these birds’ home range, above the high-tide line.4 The eggs are incubated for less than two weeks, and when they hatch, the male will carry the chicks in special pouches under his wings.5 Males and females share the responsibility of incubating the eggs, but females do most of the incubation, only occasionally leaving the nest to feed.6

Anyone figure it out yet? This is a hard one. Between being highly secretive and largely endangered, this kind is difficult to find information on. This week’s kind is the Heliornithidae, the finfoot kind. These birds look vaguely like a cross between a duck and rail.

Try out this fun crossword!

Clue

Your clue for the next week is:

Next week we head to southeast Asia looking for one of the most colorful, ornate kinds of birds that God created.

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