Water Rail (Rallus) [XC667612]
by from Quendale, Shetland Islands, Scotland, France (call)
Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) [XC875387]
by Paul Kelly from Coddstown, Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland (nocturnal flight call)
Nest
On the ground, among broken-down dead reeds or sedge, sometimes at some height above the water, or among growing reeds, concelaed from above.
Eggs (Guide)
6 - 11; glossy, pale buff, covered with ashy-grey as well as reddish-brown spots and blotches, especially at the blunt end. Incubation: 19 - 20 days.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with African Rail (Rallus caerulescens) and Madagascar Rail (Rallus madagascariensis).
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
hibernans Salomonsen, 1931 - Iceland.
aquaticus Linnaeus, 1758 - Europe, northern Africa and western Asia to upper basin of R Ob'. Winters south to northern Africa and Turkmenistan.
korejewi Zarudny, 1905 - Aral Sea and L Balkhash south to Iran, Kashmir and west-central China. Winters patchily from Iraq to coastal eastern China.
indicus Blyth, 1849 - Northern Mongolia and eastern Siberia (upper R Yenisey and middle R Lena) to Manchuria, Korea, Sakhalin and northern Japan. Winters from eastern Bengal and Assam, Myanmar, northern Thailand and northern Laos east to south-eastern China and Hainan, Taiwan and southern Japan. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Eastern Water Rail (Rallus indicus).
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet