《TAIPEI TIMES》 White-breasted waterhens snapped crossing Tainan road

By Tsai Wen-chu and Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter, with staff writer

A white-breasted waterhen was on Friday seen leading her six chicks across a busy road in Tainan’s Syuejia District （學甲）.

請繼續往下閱讀...

Bird enthusiast Lee Chin-yu （李進裕） said he witnessed the incident as he was passing by.

The birds were trying to cross the busy County Route 174, dubbed the “green tunnel,” when he saw them, Lee said on Facebook.

Lee said he stopped his vehicle to allow the birds to cross.

The birds chose the right time, because there was only one oncoming motorcycle besides him, he said.

The motorcyclist also stopped and watched as the birds walked into the grass, he added.

Lee took pictures of the birds and the images began circulating online after a Tainan-based bird photography club yesterday shared his post on its Facebook page.

The photographs show the mother bird leading the chicks, Huang Shu-ting （黃蜀婷）, a member of the photography club, wrote on Facebook.

She looked back at her chicks several times until every single one had safely crossed the road, Huang said.

Several other netizens have also commented on the images.

White-breasted waterhens can be seen in rural regions, especially near fields, ditches, swamps, wetlands or other bodies of water.

Its call, which resembles the Chinese word ku-a （苦啊, “bitterness” or “pain”） has earned it the nickname the “bitter bird” in Chinese.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES