BLACK CRAKE  
Amaurornis flavirostris

umJengejenge, umJekejeke (Zulu) Swartriethaan (Afrikaans)

HABITAT
Marshes, reedy watercourses and lake fringes, weedy ponds and river backwaters throughout the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

TYPE
This is a small rail type bird which is all black with a greeny yellow bill and red legs. It is sometimes solitary or in pairs occasionally in small groups. It hides in the reeds and when it appears walks over the water vegetation jerking its head and flicking its tail.

FOOD
Its food consists of insects, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, small fish, nestlings, heron's eggs, seeds and water plants.

BREEDING
The Corn Crake nests from October to March and builds a bulky bowl of rushes, reeds and grass on the water and sometimes on the ground. It usually lays 3 eggs which are cream to pinkish speckled or blotched with red, brown, purple and grey.

STATUS
It is a common resident.