Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana)

Other Scientific Names
Amaurornis moluccanus [BirdLife International (2004)], Amaurornis moluccanus [Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)]

Other Names (World)
Pale-vented Bush-hen, Rufous-tailed Waterhen, Rufous-tailed Bush-hen, Eastern Bush-hen, Rufous-vented Bush-hen

Family
Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules, Coots)

Size
24 - 31 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Wallace, 1865)

Habitat
Dense stands of grass and reeds, usually near still or running freshwater, swampy grasslands and roadside ditches.

Range (Guide)

Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.

Vagrant to Palau.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 1300 - 33000 (2020).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Loud shrieks. Also yodelling 'woodle-woodle-woodle', particularly at night, often given by two birds in duet.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (57)...)

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana) [XC450693]
by David Farrow from Waibu, Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia (call)

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana) [XC525956]
by Marc Anderson from Julatten, Mareeba Shire, Queensland, Australia (song)

Subspecies
Formerly considered conspecific with Bush-hen (Amaurornis olivacea), but sufficiently distinctive in plumage to merit separation. Probably best considered as forming superspecies.

The following 4 subspecies are recognised:

moluccana (Wallace, 1865) - Sangihe Is, Moluccas, Misool I and western and northern New Guinea.
nigrifrons (Hartert, 1926) - Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon Is.
ultima Mayr, 1949 - Eastern Solomon Islands.
ruficrissa (Gould, 1869) - Southern and eastern New Guinea, and north-eastern and eastern Australia.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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