Doug Collins, age 10, of Eugene, Ore., for his question:
WHAT COLOR IS THE FINFOOT BIRD?
A few years ago, nobody knew very much about the mysterious finfoot and we still would like to know more. However, there are reasons why it is very hard to observe him. For one thing, he lives in almost impossible places. What's more, he is very shy and his colors blend perfectly with his background.
The finfoot is a water bird, somewhat similar to ducks and coots and rails. So far, three distinct species have been identified, all of them in streams that flow through dense tropical forests. They are slender birds with graceful necks and pointed bills and all are champions at keeping out of sight.
Duck type water birds have large webbed feet, which is why they waddle rather clumsily on the land. The coots have partly webbed feet, with lobed flaps on their toes. So does the finfoot, which is why, though an expert swimmer, he also can walk and run on land. This unusual bird also can climb trees, where he builds a big flat nest among the boughs.
The American finfoot is about 12 inches long. His plumage is olive brown, with white below and streaked with white on the sides of his head. His remarkable feet are black with white stripes. He is the smallest of the finfoots, at home in the jungle streams of Central America and parts of South America.
The Asian finfoot is twice as big as his American cousin. His color is similar though his feet are green with yellow toes. He is at home in the jungles of Indonesia and a few neighboring parts of Asia.
The biggest finfoot belongs to Africa, where he is found almost everywhere south of the Sahara. His basic color is drabbish brown, though his plumage gleams with shades of green or blue and his feet are brilliant red.
All these birds live where jungle boughs hang over jungle streams, casting brownish green shadows on the water. They are hard to spot because they tend to cling to the shadowy banks and scuttle into the bushes when someone approaches.
Bird experts suspect that the finfoot is rather rare and each family nests far from its neighbors. The nest of twigs and leaves is high in a tree and the chicks hatch after the season of spring floods. There are three, four or five round eggs. At present not very much is known about the private life of the finfoot family.