Watercock
Encyclopedia
The Watercock Gallicrex cinerea is a waterbird in the rail and crake family Rallidae
. It is the only member of the genus Gallicrex.
Their breeding habitat is swamp
s across south Asia
from India
, Pakistan
, and Sri Lanka
to south China
, Japan
and Indonesia
. They nest in a dry location on the ground in marsh vegetation, laying 3-6 egg
s. These large rails are mainly permanent residents throughout their range
.
The body of this rail is flattened laterally to allow easier passage through the reeds
or undergrowth. It has long toes and a short tail.
Adult male Watercocks are 43 cm (16.9 in) long and weigh 476–650 g (1–1.4 lb). They have mainly black-grey plumage with red legs, bill
, forehead shield and horn. Young males are buff in colour, darkening as they mature. Their bill is yellow and their legs are green.
Female birds are smaller
at 36 cm (14.2 in) and 298–434 g (10.5–15.3 oz). They are dark brown above and paler below. the plumage
is streaked and barred with darker markings. The bill is yellow and the legs are green. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails
.
These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insect
s and small fish
and seed
s. They forage
on the ground.
Watercock are quite secretive, but are sometimes seen out in the open. They are noisy bird
s, especially at dawn and dusk, with a loud, gulping call.
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
. It is the only member of the genus Gallicrex.
Their breeding habitat is swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s across south Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
to south China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. They nest in a dry location on the ground in marsh vegetation, laying 3-6 egg
Bird egg
Bird eggs are laid by females and incubated for a time that varies according to the species; a single young hatches from each egg. Average clutch sizes range from one to about 17...
s. These large rails are mainly permanent residents throughout their range
Range (biology)
In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
.
The body of this rail is flattened laterally to allow easier passage through the reeds
Reed bed
Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions andestuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground...
or undergrowth. It has long toes and a short tail.
Adult male Watercocks are 43 cm (16.9 in) long and weigh 476–650 g (1–1.4 lb). They have mainly black-grey plumage with red legs, bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
, forehead shield and horn. Young males are buff in colour, darkening as they mature. Their bill is yellow and their legs are green.
Female birds are smaller
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
at 36 cm (14.2 in) and 298–434 g (10.5–15.3 oz). They are dark brown above and paler below. the plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is streaked and barred with darker markings. The bill is yellow and the legs are green. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
.
These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and small fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s. They forage
Forage
Forage is plant material eaten by grazing livestock.Historically the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially...
on the ground.
Watercock are quite secretive, but are sometimes seen out in the open. They are noisy bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, especially at dawn and dusk, with a loud, gulping call.