Profile
In flight
Cranes & Waders
White-breasted Waterhen
Amaurornis phoenicurus
- uncommon
- 48 km/h
- Least Concern
A bold rail that walks in plain view across paddy bunds with its tail flicking and its white face shining like a flag. The dawn cackle from a roadside ditch is almost always this bird.
- Population
- very large and stable; among the most visible rails in tropical Asia
- Habitat
- marsh edges, ditches, paddy fields, mangrove fringes, village ponds, and overgrown stream banks across South and Southeast Asia
- Diet
- insects, worms, snails, small fish, frogs, grass shoots, seeds, fallen grain
- Size
- 0.32 m
- Wingspan
- 0.5 m
