Rail-babbler

Description

It is a medium-sized,fairly slender songbird,about 28 to 30 cm (11–12 in) in length,and weighing 66 to 72 g (2.3–2.5 oz).It has a long thin neck,long black bill,long legs and a long tail.The plumage is mainly brown with a more reddish forehead and crown,and the foreneck,chin and throat are a rich chestnut.It has a long,black eyestripe extending from the bill to the side of the neck and a broad,white supercilium above it.There is a strip of bare,blue skin on the side of the neck which can be seen when the bird calls and displays,and probably has signalling significance in a dark species living in low light on the forest floor.The two sexes are the same.Juvenile birds are similar to the adult but are overall duller in colour,have a whitish throat and dark grey-brown belly.