Spotted crake | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Gruiformes |
Family: | Rallidae |
Genus: | Porzana |
Species: | P. porzana |
Binomial name | |
Porzana porzana (Linnaeus, 1766) | |
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Range of P. porzana Breeding Passage Non-breeding | |
Synonyms | |
Ortygometra porzana(Linnaeus, 1766) Rallus porzanaLinnaeus, 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. The Western European population has declined in recent decades, and the species is now a very rare breeding bird in Great Britain. [3]
The common greenshank is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name Tringa is the Neo-Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific nebularia is from Latin nebula "mist". Like the Norwegian Skoddefoll, this refers to the greenshank's damp marshy habitat.
The grey plover or black-bellied plover is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding.
The red-crested pochard is a large diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek Netta "duck", and Latin rufina, "golden-red". Its breeding habitat is lowland marshes and lakes in southern Europe and it extends from the steppe and semi-desert areas on the Black Sea to Central Asia and Mongolia, wintering in the Indian Subcontinent and Africa. It is somewhat migratory, and northern birds winter further south into north Africa.
The sora, sora rail or Carolina crake is a small waterbird of the rail family Rallidae, sometimes also referred to as the sora rail or sora crake, that occurs throughout much of North America. The genus name Porzana is derived from Venetian terms for small rails, and the specific carolina refers to the Carolina Colony. The common name "Sora" is probably taken from a Native American language.
The marsh sandpiper is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to the Russian Far East. The genus name Tringa is the Neo-Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific stagnatilis is from Latin stagnum, "swamp".
The slender-billed gull is a mid-sized gull which breeds very locally around the Mediterranean and the north of the western Indian Ocean on islands and coastal lagoons. Most of the population is somewhat migratory, wintering further south to as far as North Africa and India. A few birds have wandered to western Europe. A vagrant individual was reportedly seen on Antigua, April 24, 1976.
Temminck's stint is a small wader. This bird's common name and Latin binomial commemorate the Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds.
The broad-billed sandpiper is a small wading bird. The scientific name is from Latin. The specific name falcinellus is from falx, falcis, "a sickle." Some research suggests that it and some related species could be placed into a separate genus, Philomachus, not presently recognized as valid.
The little crake is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae. parva is Latin for "small". This species was long included in the genus Porzana.
Baillon's crake, also known as the marsh crake, is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae.
Allen's gallinule, formerly known as the lesser gallinule, is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae.
The white-tailed lapwing or white-tailed plover is a wader in the lapwing genus. The genus name Vanellus is Medieval Latin for a lapwing and derives from vannus a winnowing fan. The specific leucurus is from Ancient Greek leukouros, "white-tailed".
The Caspian plover is a wader in the plover family of birds. The specific asiaticus is Latin and means "Asian", although in binomials it usually means the type locality was India.
The ruddy-breasted crake, or ruddy crake, is a waterbird in the rail and crake family Rallidae.
The black rail is a mouse-sized member of the rail family Rallidae that occurs in both North and South America.
Porzana is a genus of birds in the crake and rail family, Rallidae. Its scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails. The spotted crake is the type species.
The African crake is a small- to medium-size ground-living bird in the rail family, found in most of central to southern Africa. It is seasonally common in most of its range other than the rainforests and areas that have low annual rainfall. This crake is a partial migrant, moving away from the equator as soon as the rains provide sufficient grass cover to allow it to breed elsewhere. There have been a few records of vagrant birds reaching Atlantic islands. This species nests in a wide variety of grassland types, and agricultural land with tall crops may also be used.
The black crake is a waterbird in the rail and crake family, Rallidae. It breeds in most of sub-Saharan Africa except in very arid areas. It undertakes some seasonal movements in those parts of its range which are subject to drought. No subspecies have been described. It appears that the oldest available name for this species is actually Rallus niger J. F. Gmelin, 1788, but Swainson believed that the earlier name was unidentifiable, and his own has since become well embedded in the literature.
The yellow-breasted crake is a species of bird in the subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found on several Caribbean islands and in most of Central America and South America.
The Australian crake , also known as Australian spotted crake, or spotted crake is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is the only species of Australian crake in the genus Porzana.