White-breasted Waterhen

White-breasted Waterhen

         Introduction of White-breasted Waterhen

      The White-breasted waterhen (Scientific name : Amaurornis phoenicurus) is a fairly common chicken like marsh bird . It belongs to the family Rallidae. It  is widely found across South and Southeast Asia.

           How to Identify White-breasted Waterhen

      It is a medium -sized (size:32 cm approx.) very  common  water bird.  Adults White-breasted Waterhen have dark slaty upperpart  and white underpart. Rusty on vent and under tail-coverts. Forehead and sides of head is white. Both male and female look alike. Juvenile birds are similar to adults but duller in color. 

          Habits And Habitats 

     Village ponds and tanks, mangroves, wetlands, riversides, marshes, as well as parks and farmlands is its natural habitats. It is often seen solitary or in small parties foraging for food in the open, reed-covered marshes, ponds, tanks, monsoon cultivation, streams. Jerking of  stumpy tail when it walks with long strides is the typical movement of this species. 

     Three types of  foraging strategies are seen in this species. These strategies are foraging and feeding while walking (to capture insects), wading (to consume molluscs and fish) and running. It climbs on trees easily, especially during  breeding season.

         Food 

    The White-breasted Waterhen is an omnivorous bird. Insects, worms, molluscs, small fish, shoots of marsh plants are its main food.

         Distribution 

   It is found from South India to Himalayan foothills.

         Call  

   Call of White-breasted Waterhen is a series of loud croaks and chuckles, the commonest call is  a harsh krr…khwakk…; often calls through the night. 

             Nesting and Breeding 

    Vigorous calls and fights occur among both the male and female birds in the morning and evening during the breeding season and this eventually leads to pair formation. Once the pairs have formed, there is a long courtship period which includes bowing, billing and nibbling displays.

     The pair  make nests  about 5 meters above the ground, and right beside the water body. Egg nests and brood nests are often found near water bodies as water is essential for the breeding and rearing of chicks.  This is because adults have been found to feed their chicks only on areas of land that are wet and chicks often dive underwater to escape predation.

     In the egg nest, female lays six to seven eggs  consecutively in the morning.  The eggs has brownish-white shells with reddish-brown spots. The breeding pair is also more aggressive in defending their territory after egg-laying. Both parents participate in incubation of the eggs. Incubation period is  between 19 to 21 days, and all eggs hatch on the same day.

    After  the eggs are hatched, the breeding pair  make a brood nest (which is larger than the egg nest) within its territory near the water, either on the ground or above ground. White-breasted Waterhen are extremely careful to the chicks, with one parent always roosting with the chicks in the brood nest. Therefore  juvenile survival rate  is high in this species.