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7

Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana) Alternate name(s): "Bush-hen", "Brown Rail", "Rufous-tailed Moorhen", "Rufous-tailed Waterhen", "Rufous-tailed Bush-hen" Size: 24-28 cm Weight: 150-210 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Pale-vented Bush-hens have highly cryptic plumage that is adapted extremely well to the dark surroundings in which they prefer to live. The head, nape of the neck, back and uppertail are all dark olive-brown, with the near-black flight feathers being the darkest of all. The front is light-grey (throat patch) to mid-grey (chest) and dark-grey (belly). The rufous-tinted vent and undertail give the species many of its alternate names. The irises are dark red-brown. When breeding, the bill is pea-green, with an orange shield. In eclipse it is yellow-olive, with a grey shield. The legs and feet are dark yellowish-grey. The plumage of juveniles has less colour contrast than that of adults. The front is light- (throat) to mid-grey (chest/belly), with a lighter rufous tint on vent and undertail. The back is greyish olive-brown. The bill and shield resemble those of non-breeding adults.

Taxonomy, classification See Pale-vented Bush-hen at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Pale-vented Bush-hen is available HERE . Pale-vented Bush-hens populate parts of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands. Next to islands along the Torres Strait, Pale-vented Bush-hens populate parts of the Australian continent, where they are found in two areas, on both sides of the Gulf of Carpentaria, but NOT along most of the coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The range of the western population extends along the (near-)coastal fringe of northern WA and the Top End of the NT, from Broome, WA, to eastern Arnhemland. The eastern population occupies the (near-)coastal north-eastern coastal fringe of Australia, from the western side of the tip of Cape York peninsula, QLD, to about the Clarence River in northern NSW. In suitable habitats in both areas they can be found up to roughly 200 km inland. Pale-vented Bush-hens have a strong preference for dense, tall growth along water courses in, and along the edges of, lowland tropical and subtropical rainforest.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "ruficrissus" B. Collett reports spotting a family of Pale-vented Bush-hens, race "ruficrissus", at Edge Hill, Cairns, QLD, only once in more than 40 years, in February 2016. E. Scott reports hearing a single Pale-vented Bush-hen, race "ruficrissus", regularly at both day- and night-time at Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, in the timeframe November 2016 to January 2017. M. Eaton reports spotting a Pale-vented Bush-hen, race "ruficrissus", in the Botanical Gardens, Brisbane, QLD, in June 2017. Another was found at Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, in November 2019. B. Hensen found a Pale-vented Bush-hen, race "ruficrissus", at Iron Range NP, QLD, in December 2018.

Photos

Race "ruficrissus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Frontal view of an adult Pale-vented Bush-hen; the small red shield indicates that this bird is breeding
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

Near-lateral view of an adult Pale-vented Bush-hen (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

Lateral view of an adult Pale-vented Bush-hen (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of an adult Pale-vented Bush-hen; note the absence of a small red shield, which indicates that this bird is not breeding (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Lateral view of an adult Pale-vented Bush-hen foraging by the edge of a creek (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Adult Pale-vented Bush-hen with a chick "exploring suburbia" (photo courtesy of B. Collett)
[Edge Hill, Cairns, QLD, February 2016]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Pale-vented Bush-hen (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Gardens, Brisbane, QLD, June 2017]

Pale-vented Bush-hen chick checking out the interior of a garage (photo courtesy of B. Collett)
[Edge Hill, Cairns, QLD, February 2016]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

bushhen_me_20200415.m4a	ruficrissus (SE QLD)	Territorial calls	© ME
bushhen_me_20200415_2.m4a	ruficrissus (SE QLD)	Territorial calls	© ME
bushhen_me_20200415_3.m4a	ruficrissus (SE QLD)	Territorial calls	© ME
bushhen_ls_20161226.mp3	ruficrissus (NE NSW)	Territorial calls	© LS
bushhen_bc_2415.mp3	ruficrissus (NE QLD)	? (Immature???)	© BC

More Pale-vented Bush-hen sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 18 December 2020, 4:05 +00:00