April 29 is the Feast Day of Saint Turaco, patron of water birds. The legend goes that when pursued by heretics into the marshes of the east, St. Turaco prayed for deliverance. A horde of brightly colored birds descended around him, confusing his pursuers with the riot of their wings. In the confusion, Turaco sank into the marsh and breathed through a reed for some hours, until the heretics left. He emerged, muddy but unmartyred. He is portrayed as a bald man, waist deep in water, with birds attending him.
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