Little Crake
Encyclopedia
The Little Crake is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae
.
Their breeding habitat is reed bed
s in Europe
, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia
. They nest in a dry location in reed vegetation, laying 4-7 egg
s. This species is migratory
, wintering in Africa
.
At 17–19 cm length, they are slightly smaller than Spotted Crake
s, from which they are readily distinguished by the lack of dark barring and white spots on the flanks. They are more similar to Baillon's Crake
.
The Little Crake has a short straight bill, yellow with a red base. Adult males have mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey face and underparts. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is barred black and white underneath.
Females have buff underparts, and are grey only on the face. Immature Little Crakes are similar to the female but have a white face and breast. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails
.
These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insect
s and aquatic animals.
Little Crakes are very secretive in the breeding season, and are then mostly heard rather than seen. They are then noisy bird
s, with a yapping kua call. They can be easier to see on migration.
The Little Crake is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
) applies.
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
.
Their breeding habitat is reed bed
Reed bed
Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions andestuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground...
s in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. They nest in a dry location in reed vegetation, laying 4-7 egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s. This species is migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, wintering in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
At 17–19 cm length, they are slightly smaller than Spotted Crake
Spotted Crake
The Spotted Crake is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.Their 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...
s, from which they are readily distinguished by the lack of dark barring and white spots on the flanks. They are more similar to Baillon's Crake
Baillon's Crake
The Baillon's Crake is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae.-Distribution:Their breeding habitat is sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across Asia. They used to breed in Great Britain up to the mid-19th century, but the western European population declined through drainage....
.
The Little Crake has a short straight bill, yellow with a red base. Adult males have mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey face and underparts. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is barred black and white underneath.
Females have buff underparts, and are grey only on the face. Immature Little Crakes are similar to the female but have a white face and breast. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
.
These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and aquatic animals.
Little Crakes are very secretive in the breeding season, and are then mostly heard rather than seen. They are then noisy bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, with a yapping kua call. They can be easier to see on migration.
The Little Crake is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
AEWA
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds is the largest of its kind developed so far under the Bonn Convention. It was concluded on 16 June 1995 at The Hague, the Netherlands and entered into force on 1 November 1999 after the required number of at least fourteen...
) applies.