Adult © Alan Van Norman eBird S20568011 Macaulay Library ML 38620611
Adult © Craig Robson
Adult © Skip Russell

Slender-billed Flufftail Sarothrura watersi

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Identification

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Tiny, rare, skulking rail-like bird that is unlikely to be seen unless you’re expressly looking for it at a handful of known sites. Male has rich rufous and olive-green color, while female is a subdued dark brown. Found in a few wetlands at middle and high elevations in eastern Madagascar, usually adjacent to rainforest. Call is an odd and earthy series of “tduk” calls, sometimes given singly and sometimes in triplets. Longer-billed than the much more common Madagascar Flufftail, and both sexes of Slender-billed Flufftail have duller coloration.

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