White-breasted Waterhen

White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) is a bold rail with dark upperparts, clean white face and breast, yellow bill and chestnut undertail. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It walks around marshes, drains and mangroves, eating insects, seeds and small aquatic animals and often calling loudly. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).