Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernOmnivore

WetlandCup nestMedium · 187 g

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana), photo 2 — Photo: (c) libby hepburn, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana), photo 3 — Photo: (c) Mark Clarke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana), photo 4 — Photo: (c) Jason Alexander, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana), photo 5 — Photo: (c) Mark Richman, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana), photo 6 — Photo: (c) Mark Clarke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana), photo 7 — Photo: (c) Nigel Voaden, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana), photo 8 — Photo: (c) Nathan Ruser, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana), photo 9 — Photo: (c) Natasha Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

What the Pale-vented Bush-hen sounds like

Sonogram of the Pale-vented Bush-hen: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Ian Kerr · Call · Lower Pappinbarra, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, New South Wales, Australia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The pale-vented bush-hen is medium sized with a body length between 25 and 30 cm (9.8 and 11.8 in), wing length of 140 to 155 mm (5.5 to 6.1 in), bill length of 28 to 33 mm (1.1 to 1.3 in) and weighing between 150 and 210 grams (5.3 and 7.4 oz). It has a dull gray-blue body, brown wings and tail. Its eponymous pale coloured vent and undertail are variously described as buff-ruffous, rufous-brown, buff or reddish-brown. The bill is distinctive being lime green with an orange red frontal shield when breeding and duller green with no red when not breeding.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Pale-vented Bush-hen

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 10 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Pale-vented Bush-hen

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 4 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Australia Indonesia Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands

Recorded as a rare visitor in Timor-Leste.

About the Pale-vented Bush-hen

The pale-vented bush-hen or rufous-tailed bush-hen is a medium sized waterbird, mainly blue-grey with a buff vent and undertail. It is found in Australia, the Moluccan Islands, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Talaud Bush-henAmaurornis magnirostrisTalaud bush-hen is a 30.5 cm long, large, very dark and robust bush-hen.

Isabelline Bush-henAmaurornis isabellinaThe isabelline bush-hen, also known as Sulawesi waterhen or isabelline waterhen, is a large, up to 40 cm long, rufous and brown rail.

Plain Bush-henAmaurornis olivaceaThe plain bush-hen, also named Philippine bush-hen or simply bush-hen, is a species of bird in the family Rallidae.

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