Mexico City, Jan 29 (EFE).- A hen named Rabanita rapidly became a celebrity in central Mexico after it was discovered that she was laying green eggs, an official of the municipality of Cuautitlan, north of this capital, told Efe on Tuesday.

"It's not a hen (that lays) golden eggs, but one whose eggs are green," said municipal secretary Raul Ortiz, who added that he was surprised by the little bird's ability.

Rabanita has captured the attention of the press and one of the country's television networks, which on Tuesday reported on the odd situation on its morning news show.

One expert cited by the daily Reforma in its Tuesday edition said that the hen could be an exotic species - such as a Guinea or Araucana chicken, very common in South America, but not in Mexico.

Rabanita lives in the community of Santa Maria Huecatitla and belongs to Elvira Romero, a woman who received her as part of a municipal support program in which authorities distributed laying hens to local residents.

Ortiz said that the bird "is normal," and does not seem to be at all exotic, and - moreover - its eggs have the regular flavor.

Rabanita's owner told reporters that several weeks ago, when she saw the little bird lay a green egg, she thought that it was rotten, but shortly thereafter she noticed that the eggs were perfectly normal - except for the odd color - and they cooked up and tasted as good as those from any other chicken.

Down at city hall, where coincidentally green is the town's institutional color, officials are hoping that Rabanita - who has generated quite a bit of media attention - will become a tourist attraction that will boost the local economy.

"Apart from San Juan Diego, let's have another claim to fame," said Ortiz, referring to the Indian peasant early in the Spanish colonial days to whom the Virgen of Guadalupe appeared, and who has a chapel dedicated to him in Cuautitlan. EFE

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