Behaviour This species is an intra-African migrant (del Hoyo et al. 1996) whose movements are imperfectly known (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). Currently the extent to which it occurs in different parts of the recorded range seasonally is uncertain. Breeding has been proven at opposite ends of the distribution, suggesting less of a structured seasonal migration and more a nomadic association with rains. It breeds during the rains in the southern tropics in solitary, territorial pairs after which it migrates towards the equator during the dry season when much of its breeding habitat dries out and is burnt or grazed (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998). Habitat It is chiefly a grassland species and breeds in temporarily inundated short grassland at the edges of rivers, dambos, marshes, grassy flats and pans (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998). It shows a preference for nesting in seasonally moist to flooded grassland (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998) characterised by grasses such as Setaria anceps, Sporobolus pyramidalis, Eulalia geniculata, Eragrostis spp. and Bothriochloa insculpta between 30 and 70 cm tall and flooded to maximum depth of 10 cm or surrounded by pools of shallow water (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998). Diet Its diet is poorly known but appears to consist of small seeds (e.g. of grasses) and small insects (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Breeding site The nest is a pad or shallow bowl of grass placed in a tuft of sedge or perennial grass (often built in the crown of a burned tuft of Sporobolus pyramidalis, Setaria sphacelata or Aristida spp. when new blades around the perimeter are 20-35 cm tall [Taylor and van Perlo 1998]), usually above wet (though not flooded) ground (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Jamie et al. 2016). Management information The species may tolerate light grazing of domestic stock on grasslands but does not occur in heavily grazed areas (heavy grazing and trampling by cattle may cause breeding pairs to depart prematurely from otherwise suitable breeding habitats [Taylor and van Perlo 1998]).

Considered an intra-African migrant with movements tightly connected to rainfall. Present in the southern part of the range between December and March: in Malawi between 20th December and 14th April (Dowsett-Lemaire 2006), while records in Zambia are largely between January and March (Jamie et al. 2016) and Mozambique in March (GBIF.org 2025). It is assessed as a rare resident in north and east Angola (Mills and Melo 2013) and may be resident in Gabon, but records are few and it is likely that movement occurs in this part of the range as well. Keith et al. (1970) suggested it may be migratory in north east Angola, citing a record of one that may have just arrived in November, which would be the early part of the rains. In West Africa, breeding in Benin was suspected to have taken place between June and September, when two juveniles were observed (Merz and Merz 2010), with birds also reported from Togo in August and Nigeria in August and September (de Bont 2001). Singing, perhaps indicating breeding, has been recorded from western Republic of Congo in December and January (Dowsett-Lemaire et. al. 1993). Other Congo records are from December (the type specimen), February and May, the latter in the early dry season (Keith et al. 1970).
Hence it appears that birds may be simultaneously present (and breeding) from Gabon southeast to Zambia and Mozambique between November and early April, breeding in response to suitable conditions in Tanzania and Kenya in April-May, then separately breeding in West Africa in June and September. There are no records of the species from the southern portion of the range between June and October. A tentative distribution is that birds from the southern part of the range migrate north and west and breed again if suitable conditions are encountered with some travelling as far as Benin and Togo. This would potentially result in individuals being present for a larger proportion of the year in northeast Angola, Republic of Congo and Gabon in line with reports of residence in Angola (Mills and Melo 2013). In Zambia, it occurs in Kasanka National Park but was otherwise not recorded from protected areas (Dowsett and Leonard 2009).