Spotted crake

Spotted crake
Call recorded in the UK
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Gruiformes
Family:	Rallidae
Genus:	Porzana
Species:	P. porzana
Binomial name
Porzana porzana (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms
Ortygometra porzana (Linnaeus, 1766) Rallus porzana Linnaeus, 1766

The spotted crake (Porzana porzana) is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. The scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails.^[2]

The spotted crake's breeding habitat is marshes and sedge beds across temperate Europe into western Asia. They nest in a dry location in marsh vegetation, laying 6–15 eggs. This species is migratory, wintering in Africa and Pakistan.

At 19–22.5 cm (7.5–8.9 in) length, spotted crakes are slightly smaller than water rails, from which they are readily distinguished by the short straight bill, yellow with a red base. Adults have mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey breast, with dark barring and white spots on the flanks. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is buff underneath.

Immature spotted crakes are similar, but the blue-grey is replaced by brown. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails.

The only confusion species is the sora, a rare vagrant from North America. However, that species lacks the breast spotting and has an unstreaked crown stripe.

These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and aquatic animals.

Spotted crakes are very secretive in the breeding season, and are then mostly heard rather than seen. They are then noisy birds, with a distinctive repetitive whiplash-like hwuit, hwuit call. They can be easier to see on migration.

The spotted crake is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Gallery

• 
  Eggs at Museum Wiesbaden, Germany
• 
  Immature
• 
  Adult
• 
  In art
• 
  ID composite

References

1. BirdLife International (2012). "Porzana porzana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
2. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 315. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

External links

• Spotted crake species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.
• BirdLife species factsheet for Porzana porzana
• Feathers of Spotted crake (Porzana porzana)
• "Porzana porzana". Avibase.
  
• "Spotted crake media". Internet Bird Collection.
• Spotted crake photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
• Interactive range map of Porzana porzana at IUCN Red List maps
• Audio recordings of Spotted crake on Xeno-canto.