Water rail
Rallus aquaticus Linnaeus, 1758
The water rail (Rallus aquaticus) is a small bird in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes, also called the brown-cheeked rail, western water rail or European water rail. It is a carnivore and aquatic predator of wetland habitats that forages in a terrestrial stratum and is partially migratory.
Quick facts about the water rail
Adults weigh 110.7 g, with reported values from 98 to 127 g, and have a wingspan of 42 cm. The IUCN Red List assesses the water rail as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 98 g – 127 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 23 cm – 28 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 42 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 8.78 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 20.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8.1 – 8.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the water rail?
Photos of the water rail
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the water rail live?
Not recorded
What is the water rail?
The water rail, western water rail or European water rail (Rallus aquaticus) is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the warmer parts of its breeding range. The adult is 23–28 cm (9–11 in) long, and, like other rails, has a body that is flattened laterally, allowing it easier passage through the reed beds it inhabits. It has mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey underparts, black barring on the flanks, long toes, a short tail and a long reddish bill. Immature birds are generally similar in appearance to the adults, but the blue-grey in the plumage is replaced by buff. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails. The former subspecies R. indicus has distinctive markings and a call that is very different from the pig-like squeal of the western rails, and is now usually split as a separate species, the brown-cheeked rail.
The water rail breeds in reed beds and other marshy sites with tall, dense vegetation, building its nest a little above the water level from whatever plants are available nearby. The off-white, blotched eggs are incubated mainly by the female, and the precocial downy chicks hatch in 19–22 days. The female will defend her eggs and brood against intruders, or move them to another location if they are discovered. This species can breed after its first year, and it normally raises two clutches in each season. Water rails are omnivorous, feeding mainly on invertebrates during summer and berries or plant stems towards winter. They are territorial even after breeding, and will aggressively defend feeding areas in winter.
These rails are vulnerable to flooding or freezing conditions, loss of habitat and predation by mammals and large birds. The introduced American mink has exterminated some island populations, but overall the species' huge range and large numbers mean that it is not considered to be threatened.
From the Wikipedia article “Water rail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Water_rail&oldid=1372863112), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the water rail sound like?
Is the water rail endangered?
The water rail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the water rail classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGruiformes
- familyRallidae
- genusRallus
- SpeciesRallus aquaticus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Rallus aquaticus deserticolor, Rallus sericeus
Other names and names in other languages (111)
- Brown-cheeked railEnglish
- European water railEnglish
- European water railEnglish
- Western water railEnglish
- Western water railEnglish
- Western water-railEnglish
- مرعة ماءArabic
- مرعة الماءArabic
- مرعة الماء الغربيةArabic
- gallineta ratoneraAsturian
- Пастушок вадзяныBelarusian
- КрещалецBulgarian
- Воден дърдавецBulgarian
- Rakig-dourBreton
- RasclóCatalan
- rascló occidentalCatalan
- Ахаль шывавтаньChuvash
- chřástal vodníCzech
- Rhegen DŵrWelsh
- rhegen ddwrWelsh
- Rhegen y DŵrWelsh
- Rhegennod DwrWelsh
- vandrikseDanish
- WasserralleGerman
- ΝεροκοτσέλαGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκή ΝεροκοτσέλαGreek
- Κοινή ΝεροκοτσέλαGreek
- akvoraloEsperanto
- Rascón ComúnSpanish
- Rascón europeoSpanish
- rooruikEstonian
- Uroilanda handiBasque
- یلوه آبیPersian
- luhtakanaFinnish
- JarðarkonaFaroese
- râle deauFrench
- Râle d'eauFrench
- Râle d’eauFrench
- Tradhna uisceIrish
- rálóg uisceScottish Gaelic
- gearradh dubh nan alltScottish Gaelic
- gearraidhean dubha nan alltScottish Gaelic
- Snagan alltScottish Gaelic
- snagan-alltScottish Gaelic
- snaganan alltScottish Gaelic
- Rascón de augaGalician
- Ushag ny shastManx
- רליתHebrew
- רלית המיםHebrew
- kokošicaCroatian
- guvatHungarian
- ՋրահովվիկArmenian
- Mandar-Padi ErasiaIndonesian
- RaloIdo
- KeldusvínIcelandic
- porciglioneItalian
- Porciglione eurasiaticoItalian
- クイナJapanese
- ニシクイナJapanese
- ヨーロッパクイナJapanese
- ПсыпцӀэджэдKabardian
- СутартарKazakh
- 흰눈썹뜸부기Korean
- 회색가슴뜸부기Korean
- Crek dowrCornish
- WaasserrallLuxembourgish
- ilgasnapė vištelėLithuanian
- dumbrcālisLatvian
- dumbracālisLatvian
- барска кокошкаMacedonian
- Усны түнжүүрMongolian
- पाण फटाकडीMarathi
- कुलवारीNepali
- waterralDutch
- vassrikseNorwegian Nynorsk
- vannrikseNorwegian
- wodnikPolish
- wodnik (zwyczajny)Polish
- Wodnik zwyczajnyPolish
- پانی دی ریلWestern Panjabi
- frango-d'águaPortuguese
- frango-d'água-eurasiáticoPortuguese
- frango-d'água-europeuPortuguese
- frango-de-água-eurasiáticoPortuguese
- cârstel de baltăRomanian
- Cristei de baltăRomanian
- Водяной пастушокRussian
- ХоростилRusyn
- БуҕарҕанаYakut
- ČáhcevuonccisNorthern Sami
- luktevuonccisNorthern Sami
- chriašteľ vodnýSlovak
- mokožSlovenian
- gjeli i ujitAlbanian
- Barski petlovanSerbian
- Барски петлованSerbian
- Barski petlovacSerbian
- vattenrallSwedish
- นกอัญชันอกสีไพลThai
- Su YelvesiTurkish
- su kilavuzuTurkish
- ПастушокUkrainian
- пастушок водянийUkrainian
- SforzianaVenetian
- Gà nước Ấn ĐộVietnamese
- Rallus aquaticusWaray
- 西秧鸡Chinese
- 普通秧雞〔西方秧雞〕Chinese
- 普通秧鸡Chinese
- 西方秧雞Chinese
- 西方秧鸡Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the water rail
Other species in the same genus Rallus.
Cape rail
Rallus caerulescens
Bogota rail
Rallus semiplumbeus
Lesser rail
Rallus limicola
Clapper rail
Rallus longirostris
Madagascan rail
Rallus madagascariensis
King rail
Rallus elegans
CompareWater rail vs Cape railWater rail vs Bogota railWater rail vs Lesser railWater rail vs Clapper rail
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the water rail?
The water rail is a bird in the family Rallidae and order Gruiformes. Its size class is small.
How much does a water rail weigh?
An adult water rail weighs 110.7 g, with reported values from 98 to 127 g. Its wingspan is 42 cm.
What does the water rail eat?
The water rail is a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator.
What habitat does the water rail live in?
The water rail lives in wetland habitat and forages in a terrestrial stratum. It is partially migratory.
Is the water rail endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses the water rail as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a water rail live?
The water rail has a lifespan of 8.8 years, with values reported up to 8.9 years.
How many eggs does a water rail lay?
The water rail has a clutch size of 8.5 and 2 clutches per year, with an egg incubation period of 20.5 days. It reaches sexual maturity at 1 year.
Who named the water rail?
The water rail, Rallus aquaticus, was named by Linnaeus in 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Water rail (Rallus aquaticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/water-rail
“Water rail (Rallus aquaticus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/water-rail.
@misc{water_rail_2026,
title = {Water rail (Rallus aquaticus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/water-rail},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}