Baillon's crake (''Zapornia pusilla''), also known as the marsh crake, is a small waterbird of the family
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...
.
Distribution
Their breeding habitat is
sedge
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...
beds in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, mainly in the east, and across the
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
. They used to breed in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
up to the mid-19th century, but the western European population declined through drainage. There has been a recovery in north-western Europe in recent years, with the recolonisation of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, and breeding suspected in Britain; an Irish record in 2012 was the first there since the 1850s.
[ They nest in a dry location in wet sedge bogs, laying 4–8 ]eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
. This species is migratory, wintering in east Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and south Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
.
It is also a resident breeder in Africa and Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
. There is a single North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n record of this species on Attu Island
Attu ( ale, Atan, russian: Атту, link=no) is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is the westernmost point of the U.S. state of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabite ...
in September 2000.
Subspecies
There are at least five subspecies of Baillon's crake:
* Marsh crake ''Porzana pusilla affinis
''Porzana pusilla affinis'' is a subspecies of Baillon's crake endemic to New Zealand. It is also called the marsh crake in English or koitareke in Maori.
Description
The marsh crake is about half the size of a common blackbird, measuring about ...
'' in New Zealand
* ''Porzana pusilla palustris'' in Australia and New Guinea
* ''Porzana pusilla mira'' in Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
* ''Porzana pusilla intermedia'' in Africa
* ''Porzana pusilla pusilla'' in Asia and other places
Description
They are in length, and are similar to the only slightly larger little crake
The little crake (''Zapornia parva'') is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae. ''parva'' is Latin for "small".
Its breeding habitat is reed beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia. This species is migratory, wi ...
. Baillon's crake has a short straight bill, yellow or green without a red base. Adults have mainly brown upperparts with some white markings, and a blue-grey face and underparts. The rear flanks are barred black and white. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is barred underneath.
Immature Baillon's crakes are similar to the adults, but have extensively barred underparts. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails.
Behaviour
These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s and aquatic animals.
Baillon's crakes are very secretive in the breeding season, and are then mostly heard rather than seen. They are then noisy bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s, with a rattling call like that of the edible frog
The edible frog (''Pelophylax'' kl. ''esculentus'') is a species of common European frog, also known as the common water frog or green frog (however, this latter term is also used for the North American species ''Rana clamitans'').
It is used ...
, or perhaps garganey
The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Banglades ...
. They can be easier to see on migration or when wintering.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
This bird is named after French naturalist Louis Antoine Francois Baillon Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated te ...
. The names marsh crake and tiny crake have previously been used to refer to this species. ''pusillus'' is Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "very small".
Status
International
The Baillon's crake is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, or African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) is an independent international treaty developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme's Conventio ...
) applies.
Australia
Baillon's crakes are not listed as threatened on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...
. However, their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example:
* The Baillon's crake is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988)
The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...
.[ Under this Act, an ''Action Statement'' for the recovery and future management of this species has not yet been prepared.][
* On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, the Baillon's crake is listed as vulnerable.][
]
References
External links
Baillon's crake species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q237670
Baillon's crake
Baillon's crake (''Zapornia pusilla''), also known as the marsh crake, is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae.
Distribution
Their breeding habitat is Cyperaceae, sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across the Palearctic. They used ...
Birds of Africa
Birds of Eurasia
Birds of Oceania
Baillon's crake
Baillon's crake (''Zapornia pusilla''), also known as the marsh crake, is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae.
Distribution
Their breeding habitat is Cyperaceae, sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across the Palearctic. They used ...
Baillon's crake
Baillon's crake (''Zapornia pusilla''), also known as the marsh crake, is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae.
Distribution
Their breeding habitat is Cyperaceae, sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across the Palearctic. They used ...