The water rail is a small bird with a long bill and a laterally compressed body. It lives in dense thickets of reeds and cattails along the banks of rivers, lakes, and in swamps.
The water rail differs from other rails with its long red bill and white stripes on the sides. It is important for marsh ecosystems because it eats many insects and serves as food for predatory birds and mammals.
With its long beak, the bird probes soft soil, water, and plant debris in search of prey.
Worker
birth time
Describes the act of excavating soil or substrate to locate or access food.
Picking small food items from foliage, ground, or other surfaces.
live adult frogs and toads
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
probing
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
Warm summer
worms
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
mollusks
beak
adult
Maturity
fish of small size
plant
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
With its long beak, the bird probes soft soil, water, and plant debris in search of prey.
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
conifer cones
Trophic type
Filters
small fish
Palearctic realm
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
cones of coniferous trees with seeds
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
reeds
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
live snails, mussels, oysters
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
gleaning
digging
65 to 130 grams, 25 – 60 centimeters
Pets
Lots of rain and cool summer
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
Legs size
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
turns
Rascals
terrestrial forest
Flooded grasslands
insect
bird
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
all rivers and lakes
Down color
lots of rain, cool summer, snow in winter
marshes
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
if born as {name}
Forages within or on the surface of soil or substrate.
omnivore
age
birth date
swimming
Palearctic realm
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
Beak size
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Punctures skin or tissue to extract fluids, blood, or soft tissue.
Mass
cold winter, lots of coniferous trees: spruce, pine
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
aquatic
{name} birthday
live annelid worms
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
soil
No results found
On the map
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Beak color
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
Inserts beak, snout, or tongue into substrate to locate buried or hidden food.
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
nest
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Plumage color
forests on land — tropical, temperate, boreal
water often floods the land, lots of grass
Freshwater
Temperate mixed forest
Duration
live insects
This is me
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
freshwater
Always very wet
Gamers
How are they built?
frogs and toads
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Taiga
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
piercing
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Carrot
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Observations
◉{N} more on tap