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A small family of grebe-like birds and related to rails.
Their plumage is dense, mainly olive-brown, spotted with white,
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finely barred black and buff in 1 spot and plain in 1 spot,
all with whitish stripes above and below the eyes, or behind the eyes. The
bill is bright red or yellow and the legs are bright black-and-yellow
banded, green or red.
The sexes differ in plumage. The female is usually
browner, with a dull brown bill. The body is long in shape with very thin
neck and head small. The legs set well back on the body with short Tarsus,
long feet with lobed toes and strong claws.
They swim silently and seldom dive. They submerge with
only the head and neck showing when alarmed.
The African Finfoot inhabits quiet backwaters of streams
and sluggish rivers. The nest is a platform of sticks and grasses in
tangled vegetation or on a branch overhanging water.
They
are sexually dimorphic, with the male considerably larger than the female.
Adult males are blackish around the forehead, crown, nape and behind the
neck with a green gloss.
Males : Lores, ear coverts and chin to the fore-throat is
grey, flecked with white below the throat. The back, rump and upper tail
coverts are dark brown with white spots. The tail is blackish with
conspicuous thick light, buff-coloured shafts. The upper breast is finely
barred or speckled brown and the lower breast streaked light brown and
belly white. A narrow white line runs from behind the eye down the side of
the neck. Wings are dark brown and all coverts are heavily spotted
creamy-white. The wings on both male and females have a well developed
12-18 mm first digit with a 4 mm claw that is independently mobile. Both
sexes bill is coral red. Eyes are red-brown. Legs and feet are bright
red-orange, broadly lobed and with yellow nails.
Females : The forehead to behind the neck is dark brown.
Lores are cream with a brown triangle in front of the eye. There is a
prominent white stripe from behind the eye down the side of the neck,
bordered with dark brown on either side. The back and all coverts are dark
brown, flecked and spotted white. The tail is dark brown with light, buff-coloured
shafts. The breast is cream to light brown and the under parts white. The
bill is salmon red and the upper mandible is dark brown with the lower
edges tipped red. Eyes are light brown and legs and feet are the same as
the males.
Juveniles are similar in colour to the female. The juvenile
male’s crown, nape and behind the neck is brown/black (not as black on
head as adult male).
Species that are easily confused for the Finfoot is the
African Darter and Reed Cormorant as they have a similar shape. However,
neither of these species have red bills or feet.
African Finfoot are normally silent, but gives an
explosive, loud kak, kak, kak, kak repeated 10-20 times, increasing in
tempo when alarmed.
In South Africa they are found from Mossel Bay in the South
Western Cape, eastwards along the coastal regions through KwaZulu-Natal,
Swaziland, extreme south-western parts of Mozambique, westwards to
Northern Free State and Limpopo Province.
They are generally uncommon to rare but due to its shy,
quiet and retiring habits, probably more common than records suggest.
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Their density on the Sabie River in Mpumalanga is reported as ‘relatively
high’, but this is not quantified.
It is a shy, skulking and reclusive species that seldom
ventures into open water. It swims with pronounced backwards and forwards
motion of the head, with tail fanned on the water surface. When disturbed,
often seeks cover on land or in thick riverside vegetation. Its initial
escape reaction is to run along the surface of the water and takes to the
wing more readily from land than water. To avoid detection it will
submerge its body leaving only head and neck exposed. Once airborne,
flight is rapid and strong. It is remarkably agile on land and is a strong
climber, using the well developed digit and claw to assist mobility up and
along branches and will climb up and roosts in branches overhanging water.
The bird is largely sedentary but droughts force birds to
move to more permanent water in lower regions.
They inhabit mostly quiet wooded streams and rivers,
flanked by thick riparian vegetation and overhanging trees. They can also
be found on dam verges, especially where there is sufficient overhanging
vegetation and reed cover. Finfoot avoid both stagnant and very fast
flowing watercourses and have a preference for clear rather than silted
water.
Finfoot forages close to the water’s edge and river banks,
usually under overhanging vegetation. Most prey is taken from above the
surface of the water and off the surrounding vegetation, but it does take
prey within bill length below the surface without diving. It also leaves
the water to catch prey. Most prey is insects. Their diet regularly
includes dragonflies (& nymphs), grasshoppers, spiders, crabs snails,
shrimps, frogs, millipedes, beetles, fish and molluscs.
They a monogamous and territorial. Territories range from a
few hundred metres to a few kilometres. In courtship he male repeatedly
swims from cover to open water, raising and opening left and right wings
alternately. The female bird, making clapping noises, emerges to escort
the mate back to cover.
Laying dates are between August and April, but mainly
between September and March
The nest is an untidy deep bowl of coarse grass, reed &
rush leaves and thin twigs. It is normally placed 1-2.5 m (up to 4 m)
above water on an overhanging branch and fairly well concealed. They also
build nests in and on flood debris and in rushes above water level. Nest
sites may be re-used in subsequent years. They usually lay 1 to 3 eggs
(usually 2) laid at 1 day intervals. The egg has a blunt ended (short
oval) and is glossy light to dark brown, heavily blotched and spotted with
dark brown, red brown and slate.
The incubation period is unknown, but possibly at least 21
days and is done so only by the female. The female sits tightly, dropping
off quietly into the water at the last minute.
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