Overview
Like other rails, has a body that is flattened laterally, allowing it easier passage through the reed beds it inhabits. It has mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey underparts, black barring on the flanks, long toes, a short tail and a long reddish bill. Immature birds are generally similar in appearance to the adults, but the blue-grey in the plumage is replaced by buff. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Bird
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Rallus
- Species
- aquaticus
Habitat
Well-vegetated wetlands.
Diet
Omnivorous, feeding mainly on invertebrates during summer and berries or plant stems towards winter.
Behavior
The water rail breeds in reed beds and other marshy sites with tall, dense vegetation, building its nest a little above the water level from whatever plants are available nearby. The off-white, blotched eggs are incubated mainly by the female, and the precocial downy chicks hatch in 19–22 days. The female will defend her eggs and brood against intruders, or move them to another location if they are discovered. This species can breed after its first year, and it normally raises two clutches in each season. They are territorial even after breeding, and will aggressively defend feeding areas in winter.
Hunting
More information needed.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.