- Philomachus pugnax
Identification
29-32cm. Small head, medium bill, long neck and pot-bellied profile, long yellowish or red legs. Breeding males have black, chestnut or white neck ruffs and head tufts, made up of solid, barred or irregularly coloured feathers. Grey-brown backs, white underparts except for the black breast.
Distribution
Northern Europe and Russia. Rare vagrant to California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Accidental vagrant to Kansas.
Taxonomy
Habitat
Bogs, marshes and wet meadows. Winters in estuaries and marshes.
Behaviour
They build their nest in a well-hidden location on the ground, and 3-4 eggs are laid.
They forage in wet grassland and soft mud. The diet includes insects, earthworms, larvae, frogs, small fish, and seeds.
Bird Song
<flashmp3>Philomachus pugnax (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
