Red-chested Flufftail Sarothrura rufa Scientific name definitions

15–17 cm; male 30–46·5 (38·8) g, female 29·5–42 (36·6) g (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ); wingspan c. 25 cm. Tail noticeably long, especially compared to similar to S. boehmi of wetland habitats (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ); often fluffed out. In male, chestnut extends to mantle and lower breast; upperparts black with short white streaks becoming spots on greater wing-coverts and tertials; tail black, spotted white. Female paler, more golden brown, than females of other wetland or grassland flufftails, e.g. S. lugens; spots and bars predominantly buff. Bare parts: irides dark brown, bill blackish with blue-grey mandible, and legs dark grey tinged brown to pink (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ). Immature resembles adult but in male chestnut is duller and white markings fewer, mostly spots, female very dark brownish black with paler, less numerous spots on upperparts and more extensive markings on underparts. Juvenile has upperparts including wings dull black, underparts dull grey-black except for whitish chin, throat and centre of belly. Males of races elizabethae and <em>bonapartii</em> have longer white streaks on upperparts, but white spots on tail and rump of bonapartii run together, appearing more streaked; upperparts of female elizabethae mainly barred, of female bonapartii mainly crescent-shaped or streaked; bonapartii smaller than both elizabethae and nominate rufa (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ).

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Wide range of wetland vegetation types, from seasonally wet hygrophilous grassland and sedge meadow as short as 55 cm to permanently flooded reedbeds up to 3 m tall, including papyrus swamp; normally avoids deeply flooded vegetation. In forested areas of W Africa also occurs in dry grass, sometimes near human habitation. Requires dense cover and foraging areas of mud, firm ground or short vegetation. In South Africa widespread from sea-level to 2100 m, above which altitude suitable cover does not grow; occurs up to 2700 m in Kenya and 2600 m in Ethiopia (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ).

No evidence for regular movements; pairs entirely sedentary and permanently territorial when conditions permit. Very local movements occur in non-breeding season when habitat is drastically reduced, e.g. by burning or drying out. Immatures disperse widely outside breeding season.

Takes wide variety of invertebrate prey, including earthworms, small gastropods, spiders, and adults and larvae of many insects, including termites and small ants. Seeds, mainly of grasses, eaten frequently, but not fed to chicks, and may form large part of diet in non-breeding season. Daily energy intake of adults 140–150 kJ. Forages throughout day, with peaks in early morning and late afternoon. Searches low-growing plants for insect prey; forages on dry to wet substrates, digging with bill among roots, moss and in soft ground; takes active prey on and below surface of shallow water.

Red-chested Flufftail prefers the wetter well-vegetated areas of marshy habitat, where it stays well hidden and therefore is far more heard than seen. Knowledge of the Advertisement and Territorial call are essential to detect the presence of this species, but detailed study revealed that the vocabulary of this species is in fact far more extensive (3 Taylor, P. B. (1994). The biology, ecology and conservation of four flufftail species, Sarothrura (Aves: Rallidae). Ph.D. thesis, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Close ,1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ).

Vocal Development

Chicks utter quiet cheeps and a plaintive, repeated wee-ick for food begging and contact. Immatures develop a small variety of the adults territorial, alarm and contact calls. While sharing the parents territory, they frequently utter the Territorial call, which resembles more the higher-pitched version of the female.

Vocal Array

Advertisement call. A short pure whistled dove-like hoot woooo repeated at steady pace. The hoot has a duration of ⁓0.4‒0.6s, a pace of ⁓0.7-1.0 notes/s, increases in amplitude towards the end and rises slightly in pitch from about 650Hz to 800Hz. Some variants exist, such as a hoot which has a distinct sudden pitch change at the end woooah. Series may continue for a minute or more. Call is audible up to ⁓500m,

Territorial call. A rapid series of identical loud nasal notes, each rising in pitch at end dueh-dueh-dueh… Note duration ⁓0.25s, pace ⁓2.4‒2.9 notes/s, base harmonic at ⁓850Hz and third harmonic at ⁓2550Hz loudest in amplitude. At close range, an audible low-pitched gulping sound accompanies the start of every note. Call becomes more strident with increased agitation or aggression. Both male and female utter this call type, the latter at slightly higher pitch, sharper and with accent on second syllable kevic-kevic… (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ). This call carries less well than the advertisement call, and is audible up to ⁓200m.

Squoo-uh. This call type, somewhat intermediate between the previous two call types, is a series of mournful hoots, each of which may abruptly shift to a low-pitched gulping sound squoo-uh..squoo-uh..squoo-uh. Note duration ⁓0.5‒0.6s, pace ⁓1‒1.5notes/s. Such series may continue for several minutes, and gulping sound may be omitted further in the series.

Ki-ki-ki. A fast series of short nasal ki notes. Note duration 0.05s, pace ⁓5notes/s.

Other. A wide variety of other calls are also given, such as hooting, squeaking, rattling, moaning, hissing, humming, buzzing, bubbling and ticking notes (3 Taylor, P. B. (1994). The biology, ecology and conservation of four flufftail species, Sarothrura (Aves: Rallidae). Ph.D. thesis, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Close ).

Geographic Variation

None documented.

Phenology

Advertisement call is mainly given during the breeding season by the male. In South-Africa, Territorial call can be heard all year, but less so during the breeding period when Advertisement call is the principal vocalisation. Males are more vocal than females, and the latter are most vocal when not breeding (3 Taylor, P. B. (1994). The biology, ecology and conservation of four flufftail species, Sarothrura (Aves: Rallidae). Ph.D. thesis, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Close ). Similarly, in Zambia Advertisement call is mainly heard from January to early May, while Territorial call has been reported in all months (4 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ).

Daily Pattern of Vocalizing

Birds are mainly vocal during the morning and again late afternoon. During the breeding season the Advertisement call can be heard at night for long periods, from a fixed position.

Places of Vocalizing

All vocalisations are uttered from the ground, typically well concealed in marshy habitat.

Sex Differences

The Advertisement call is given by the male, the territorial call is given by both sexes with slight differences in sound, the Squoo-uh call is also assigned to the male. For a detailed list of male and female vocalisations, see (3 Taylor, P. B. (1994). The biology, ecology and conservation of four flufftail species, Sarothrura (Aves: Rallidae). Ph.D. thesis, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Close ).

Repertoire and Delivery of Songs

Vocal repertoire is very extensive. In a detailed study 113 recognizable call types were identified (many of which are subtle variants of the basic call types); these may be grouped in 8 categories based on their functions (3 Taylor, P. B. (1994). The biology, ecology and conservation of four flufftail species, Sarothrura (Aves: Rallidae). Ph.D. thesis, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Close ). Most call types (in descending order) can be linked to territorial defence, aggressive behaviour, contact, alarm, advertising, courtship and mating.

Social Content and Presumed Functions of Vocalizations

The Advertisement call indicates breeding activity of a pair in an active territory. The Territorial call is made by both members of the pair throughout the year for territorial defence, but less so at the end and after the breeding period. In the period of several weeks when breeding ends, rather the Squoo-uh call is heard, possibly a less aggressive version of territorial call when the territory is also shared with (calling) immatures. In the non-breeding period, territorial defence is equally strong (contrary to other rail species which share their habitat), and playback experiments with models lead to aggressive attack (3 Taylor, P. B. (1994). The biology, ecology and conservation of four flufftail species, Sarothrura (Aves: Rallidae). Ph.D. thesis, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Close ).

None documented.

Season indeterminate in equatorial regions; Sierra Leone, May, Jul; Nigeria, Dec; Cameroon, Mar–Jul; Gabon, Nov–Dec, Mar; Zaire, Jan–Feb, May, Jul–Aug; Angola, breeding condition May; Uganda, Oct (possibly Apr–May) (5 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists’ Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close ); Kenya, May; Pemba Jan–Apr; Tanzania, Feb, Mar, breeding condition Apr, Jul; normally breeds during rains (Nov–May) in S Africa but Aug–Dec nesting recorded in SW Cape, under winter rainfall regime (Apr–Sept). As in some other Sarothrura, birds at higher altitudes may breed 1–2 months later than those at lower elevations (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ). Monogamous and permanently territorial, forming strong permanent pair-bond; pairs may be spaced at intervals of as little as c. 50–100 m (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ). Territory size varies little between the breeding and non-breeding seasons, c. 0·1–0·45 ha in the former period, versus c. 0·05–0·5 ha in the latter (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ). Nest is a cup of grass or dead plants, sometimes with slight dome; well hidden in or under clump of grass or herbs 8–30 cm above ground or water surface; often nests in damp to shallowly flooded grass at edge of marshy areas; external diameter 13 cm, internal diameter 8–9·5 cm, depth of cup 3–4 cm. Usually 2–3 white (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ) eggs (2–5), 24–29·4 mm × 17·6–21·5 mm (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ), laid at daily intervals; incubation usually 16–18 days (14–18), male by day, female at night; chicks precocial and nidifugous, leave nest after 2–3 days, fed by both parents; black downy chicks have pronounced fluffy tail and black bare parts, bill with white tip and pink base; body fully feathered at 23 days; normally independent after 3–4 weeks, but may solicit food until 8–9 weeks old; remiges and rectrices fully grown at six weeks, when young fly; post-juvenile partial moult then begins, complete at 10–11 weeks. Age of first breeding one year; adult mortality low. Clutch losses, from predation or flooding, sometimes high; juvenile mortality possibly low. Usually 1–3 (1–4) broods per season; interval between clutches 4·5–9 weeks; in captivity, in Zimbabwe up to six clutches laid Aug–May. Young may help feed chicks of subsequent broods; young of last brood often remain in parental territory during non-breeding season, being ejected by start of next breeding season.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Widespread, sometimes locally common to abundant, e.g. in Congo, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ), but much less common across apparently disjunct W African range (except perhaps locally in Sierra Leone) (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ) and very few records prior to 1990s in Uganda, although recent observations there suggest it is commoner than supposed (5 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists’ Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close ) and it has been found in several protected areas, e.g. Kibale and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks (6 Rossouw, J. D. (2001). New records of uncommon and poorly known species for Ugandan National Parks and Forest Reserves. Scopus 21:23–34. Close ) and Echuya Forest Reserve (7 Marks, B.D., Gnoske, T.P. and Ngabo, C.K.M. (2003). Additions to the avifauna of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Echuya Forest Reserve, Uganda. Scopus 23: 1-6. Close ). Recently recorded for first time in Ghana (8 Dowsett, R. J., F. Dowsett-Lemaire, and A. Hester (2008). The avifauna of Ghana: additions and corrections. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 15(2):191–200. Close ), but claimed occurrence in Ivory Coast remains unconfirmed (1 Taylor, B., and B. van Perlo (1998). Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, United Kingdom. Close ). Occurs at densities of 2–6 pairs/ha in Natal, South Africa; a successful colonist of artificially created, sometimes very small, habitat patches. However, overall numbers must be decreasing with the continual destruction of wetland habitats throughout its range.