Adult Water Rails have olive-brownish with broad black centers upperparts, crown, wing-coverts and inner secondaries. Head-flanks, neck-flanks, throat, craw and fore-breast are grey. Body-flanks are with across broad black and narrow white strips. Rear-belly is buffy. Lower wing-coverts are with black and white strips. Long feathers of undertail are white, short ones are black with white across bars and buffy tips. Bill is brownish-black with orange-red base of lower mandible. Legs are brownish. Eyes are orange-red. First-year juveniles have upperparts dimmer than on adults; throat is whitish, other underparts are pale-buffy; across strips on body-flanks are dark-brownish and white. Second-year birds have whitish throat, other underparts are greyish-buffy; in all other plumage same to adults. Sizes: wing 95-130 mm, bill 35-45 mm, tarsus 35-47 mm. Weight 132-187 gr.
"Птицы Казахстана" том 1, Алма-Ата, 1960
