**Description:** A slender, secretive marsh bird with a long, slightly curved reddish-orange bill and gray facial patches.
**Size & Weight:** 9–11 inches long. Weighs 2.3–3.4 oz.
**Identification:** Bodies are "laterally compressed," allowing them to slip through narrow gaps in marsh grass without moving the stalks.
**Behavior:** Highly vocal at night; makes a rhythmic "kidick-kidick" grunting sound. They primarily eat crayfish and aquatic beetles.
**Habitat:** Shallow marshes, wet meadows, and beaver ponds with standing water and dense cover.