White-Breasted Waterhen

I'd previously seen a white-breasted waterhen in Bundala NP, Sri Lanka in March 2019, but got a poor, blurry photo. In November 2025 we were in Keoladeo NP in India and got a great view of a white-breasted waterhen out of the water, so we got a particularly good view of its gangly feet. 

The white-breasted waterhen is in the rail and crake family. It has primarily dark gray upperparts and flanks; a white face, neck, breast and lower belly; rufous rear flanks, vent and undertail coverts; long yellow toes, a yellowish green bill with a red culmen, and a short tail. The bill can change color by age and season. The adult bill is usually brightish green-yellow with a duskier culmen and can become brighter yellow during breeding. At the base of the culmen a brownish to reddish shield develops during the first year. In breeding adults, the shield enlarges to extend up the forehead and becomes bright red, with the red extending to the base of the culmen and sometimes the base of the lower mandible. 

Illustration of ssp. phoenicurus from Birds of the World, found in Pakistan, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka to east China, Taiwan, Japan and south through southeastern Asia and Philippines to the Greater Sundas. This is the ssp. we saw. 

Range map from Birds of the World.