ML646677335
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age and sex
- Adult, Unknown sex - 1
- Behaviors
- Foraging or eating
Media notes
Prior records of feeding on bananas, grass seeds, bivalve mollusc, small snails.
Observation details
Feeding Behaviour and Diet of the White-breasted Waterhen The White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus is common and widespread. However, its diet is not recorded locally. Of foraging behaviour and food items, Wells (1999) says “no information”. Birds of the World (Taylor et al 2023) state that the diet includes worms, molluscs, insects and their larvae (beetles, grasshoppers, spiders), small fish, grass seeds and shoots/roots of marsh plants. Foraging is often in open areas with gleaning from plants (Taylor et al 2023). Over the years I have seen them feed on a variety of items mentioned above, I have also observed (Plate 1): 1. Two episodes of adults feeding on Bananas (genus Musa), including unripe fruit (Feb 2013 & Dec 2020). They often have to hop/fly up 1.5 to 2 meters to gain access to the fruit. I have also seen them take banana fruit for juveniles. 2. Young juvenile self-feeding on grass seeds (possibly Cyperus polystachyos) as well as picking off small insects off low lying bushes (Nov 2013). 3. An adult carrying away a bivalve mollusc to feed on (Jan 2013). 4. Adults feeding on the fruit of Flueggea virosa (Common Bushweed) (Feb 2018). 5. Adult sieving through the aquatic plants (Lemna minor) to feed on small snails (May 2019). On 04 December 2025 at a forest fringe. Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, I observed an adult White-breasted Waterhen foraging in tall grass. It appeared to be taking grass seeds off the tall heads of the grasses (Plate 2) – this has been described in the past (Taylor et al 2023). In addition to grass seeds, it could also be taking small insects off the grass. A video of the activity is available here: https://youtu.be/zVXAXDCdDLY References 1. Taylor, B., Hansasuta, C. & Pyle P. (2023). White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus, version 1.1. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. 2. Wells, D. R. (1999). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 1. Non-passerines. London: Academic Press.
Technical information
- Dimensions
- 3264 pixels x 2210 pixels
- Original file size
- 3.48 MB