© Joe Barkowski

Distribution: Sub Saharan Africa, from north edge of Shahel zone south to Cape.

Habitat: Freshwater wetland. Inhabits rank grass, sedges, reedbeds, swampy thickets; occurs in dense undergrowth of boggy clearings in forest.

Diet: Worms, molluscs, crustaceans, insects, small fish, small frogs and tadpoles. Eggs and nestlings.

Breeding: Nest is a deep, bulky bowl of reeds, sedges, creepers, grasses; placed in vegetation over water with rim 20-50cm above water; also nest on ground or in grass tussock near water. Both sexes build nest.

Clutch size: 2 - 6 eggs (usually 3) - laid at dailt intervals

Incubation: 13 - 19 days, incubated by both parents

Rearing: Chicks leave nest 1-3 days after hatching; fed and cared for by parents, helped by young of previous broods, for at least 3-6 weeks

Fledge age: Fly at 5-6 weeks

Maturity: 1 year