Best time to see: all year
Key facts
Secretive marsh-dwelling bird, its pig-like squeal often revealing its presence
Habitat: dense reedbeds, swampy ditches and alder thickets
Widespread resident
Recognition
Grey and brown waterbird with long red bill and pink legs; 28 cm
Often picks its way daintily through waterside vegetation, eating plants, invertebrates and amphibians
When startled, flies off weakly with legs trailing
Lifecycle
In courtship the male feeds the female, who sometimes walks round him and rubs her bill against him
Nest is a cup of reeds hidden above water; 2 broods of 6–10 creamy eggs spotted reddish, April–July
.jpg)
© Tony Gunton