Watercock

Male
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, July-2016

Gallicrex cinerea

Identification

Male 42–43 cm (16½-17 in); Female 36 cm (14 in)
Male

• Blackish-grey
• Red legs, bill, forehead shield and horn
  

Young males

• Buff, darkening with age
• Yellow bill
• Green legs
  

Female
Photo © by SeeToh
Singapore Botanic Gardens, February 2012

Female

• Dark brown upperparts
• Paler underparts
• Streaked and barred with darker markings
• Yellow bill
• Green legs

Chicks are black.

Distribution

South Asia from India and Sri Lanka to south China, Japan and Indonesia.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Head closeup showing forehead shield and horn
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Basai Wetland, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, June-2015

Lowlands marshes, swamps, rice fields, flooded pastures etc.

Behaviour

Breeding

They nest on the dry ground in marsh vegetation. Their clutch consists of 3-6 eggs.

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of green shoots, seeds and rice. They also eat worms, molluscs, aquatic insect and larva.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>watercock_alok.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, India, July-2016
A male is giving his trademark grunting call, partially hidden in grass.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2015)
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Watercock. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Watercock

External Links

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