diagnostics
13.5-14.5 cm, 32 g. In flight, the white secondary flight feathers are a diagnostic feature of both sexes. Both sexes have white bellies and black and rufous barred tail. Adult male has whitish throat with rufous head and neck, and is darker brown on crown. Adult female has a darkish crown with greyish rufous on the sides of the head with some pale brown on the sides of the base of the neck, and a white throat. Immature male differs from adult male by having less rufous on head. Immature female similar to adult female, but paler and browner on upperparts (Taylor 2005).
trophic
White-winged Flufftails are found in high-altitude marshes (1 100-1 900 masl) (Taylor and Grundling 2003). These permanent marshes are shallowly flooded and dominated by dense sedges (Carex spp.), often mixed with other vegetation (Cyperus fastigiatus, Phragmites australis, Typha capensis, Leersia hexandra, Schoenoplectus spp.) (Taylor 2005). The birds occasionally co-occur in the same habitat as Red-chested Flufftails S. rufa (Taylor 2005). The White-winged Flufftail's monospecific status and absence of breeding records from South Africa have been considered indicative of long-distance migration between Ethiopia and South Africa (Taylor 2000a).
