White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) வெள்ளை நெஞ்சு நீர்க்கோழி
The white-breasted waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) வெள்ளை நெஞ்சு நீர்க்கோழி 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 inactivity and during the breeding season, just after the first rains, make loud and repetitive croaking calls.
In Medavakkam marshland they are a bit abundant. we have noticed two couples of White-breasted Waterhen have given birth to five chicks each. there were also more than five couples of white-breasted waterhen but we couldn't find their breeding spots.
White-breasted Waterhen flies with dangling legs and outstretched neck, as other Rallidae. It flies when necessary, usually gliding along at slow speed for a few meters, before rapidly landing, because of its huge, heavy feet.
Medium-sized, fairly common chickenlike marsh birds found in meadows, ditches, riversides, marshes, as well as parks and farmlands in close proximity to humans; often seen foraging in the open. Adults are dark slaty above and white below, with a rusty patch under the tail. Juvenile similar but duller in color. The remarkably variable song is a series of hooting, grunting, or rasping notes or phrases, repeated monotonously, often from an exposed perch.
