A Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis) stares down the photographer who has interrupted the bird’s food foraging in IRRI’s rice fields. Active at any time of the day, especially during twilight. They are often seen in the early morning on bunds between rice fields looking for worms, mollusks, crustaceans, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds’ eggs. Like most waterbirds, the Buff-banded rails’ preferred habitat includes dense reeds and vegetation or crops near a clean water source in which it can hide, nest, and breed. They tend to use the mature rice as cover.
