White-breasted Waterhen

Amaurornis phoenicurus

The white-breasted waterhen is a waterbird of the rail and crake family, Rallidae, that is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. They are dark slaty birds with a clean white face, breast and belly. They are somewhat bolder than most other rails and are often seen stepping slowly with their tail cocked upright in open marshes or even drains near busy roads. They are largely crepuscular in activity and during the breeding season, just after the first rains, make loud and repetitive croaking calls. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 2,243 times across 18 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in Asia ranged from 17°N in June to 35°N in July, about 2,000 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.