A pair of Allen’s gallinule, a very rare bird, has bred successfully on the island, raising three young in what is the first breeding record of them in Malta and Europe.

The find has just been published by ornithologists Natalino Fenech and Michael Sammut in Dutch Birding, one of the leading ornithological journals.

Dr Fenech told Times of Malta he had not wanted to break the news locally earlier because the birds bred in an area frequented by many people at certain times of the day. The young birds are quite vulnerable so he did not want to expose them to unnecessary risks.

He said Allen’s gallinule (Faġan tal-Baħar Afrikan) were extremely rare both locally and in Europe. “My fear is that they will be confused for moorhen (Gallozz Iswed), a similar species that is not protected, and shot,” Dr Fenech said.

One has to wait and see what will happen to them

Being so rare, there was also the possibility of collectors wanting to lay their hands on them to add to their collection of stuffed birds.

Two adults and three young birds were observed briefly on two dates in July. The young were estimated to be at least two weeks old when first seen and were visibly bigger when seen again a week later.

The first time the birds were foraging for food in a field where fodder was harvested. The area was close to where an adult male was repeatedly observed between December 2013 and January this year.

The Allen’s gallinule is a vagrant in the Maltese Islands. It was first recorded on December 2, 1976. The breeding record brings the total number of birds recorded in Malta to 23, as it is presumed that the male of the breeding pair is one of the two males seen between December and February.

“The breeding record is interesting not only because it is the first in Malta, but because it is a classic example of how vagrants can disperse and start to form new populations in areas where they end up,” Dr Fenech said.

The Allen’s gallinule, formerly known as the lesser gallinule, breeds in marshes and lakes in sub-Saharan Africa. It migrates within Africa although some may remain sedentary all year round in permanent wetlands. But birds in the northern tropics usually move north and populations in the southern tropics move south at the onset of the rains.

The Allen’s gallinule is being recorded in various parts of Europe including Morocco, Spain, the Canary Islands, Great Britain, Israel, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Crete and Finland.

In most cases the birds are found moribund – exhausted birds have been found in Malta too.

“One has to wait and see what will happen to these birds, whether they will survive and migrate or disperse and continue to breed in other areas or whether they will fall victim to illegal hunting or end up being mistaken for a moorhen and shot,” Dr Fenech said.

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