Alternative name: Waters's Flufftail
- Sarothrura watersi
Identification
14 - 17cm.
Male
- Long and slender bill
- Plain plumage with dull chestnut head, neck, breast and mantle
- Whitish throat and chin
- Dull dark brown upperparts with indistinct darker streaks
- Ashy-brown unmarked undparts
- Chestnut tail with black feather tips
Female
- Greyish-brown plumage
- Slightly barred darker on rear flanks and tail
- Paler on belly
Juveniles undescribed
Similar species
The only other Flufftail on Madagascar, the Madagascar Flufftail is much more heavily streaked (male) or streaked and barred (female).
Distribution
Endemic to eastern Madagascar.
Only known from five localities. The transformation of wetlands into paddyfields threatens this species. Classified as endangered.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Forms a species pair with White-winged Flufftail.
Habitat
Montane marshland shallowly flooded, at least seasonally, dominated by dense, short grasses, with scattered clumps of thin-stemmed sedges and rushes.
Behaviour
No information about diet.
Few information about breeding. Breeding season possibly during rains.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 1996. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334207
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Slender-billed Flufftail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Slender-billed_Flufftail
