Rouget's Rail (Rougetius rougetii)

Rouget's rail is a monogamous bird (4), which lays a clutch of four to five eggs between March and October (2). The nest is a pad of dead rushes, hidden amongst rushes on wet ground, or in rushes over the water (2). The female has been observed incubating the eggs, although it is thought that the male may also partake in this activity, and both parents tend the chicks until they are fully grown. One Rouget's rail chick was seen accompanied by ten adults, suggesting that some co-operative breeding may take place in this species (2). Rouget's rail has a fairly wide and varied diet, including seeds, aquatic insects, crustaceans and small snails, which it searches for amongst grass, on bare mud or as it hops from stone to stone in shallow water (2).

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