Not always shy, but stays close to cover and runs into reeds or flooded willows if startled. Looks small, round in side view but very narrow end-on, with spiky bill, long toes. Seen on salt marshes during winter.

The classic Water Rail habitats are reedbeds and freshwater marshes, but they can be found almost anywhere that is wet: a flooded ditch beneath willows and alders, for example, is good enough for a Water Rail or two to creep about in, quietly, during winter. Here they are elusive but not really shy: with patience it is possible to get superb close-up views. From the side they look round and dumpy, especially in cold weather, but a typical tail-end view shows how remarkably thin and compressed this species is.