Afghanistan (B), Albania (B), Algeria, Angola, Australia (B), Austria (P), Azerbaijan (B) (NB), Bahrain, Belarus (B), Belgium (B), Bosnia and Herzegovina (B), Botswana, Bulgaria (B) (P), China (mainland) (B), Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B), Cyprus (P), Czech Republic (B), Egypt, Ethiopia, France (B), Germany (B), Greece (B) (NB) (P), Hungary (B), India (B), Indonesia (B), Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B), Iraq (P), Israel, Italy (B) (P), Japan (B), Jordan (B) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (B), Laos, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B), Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritania, Moldova [Republic of] (B), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B), Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles (B), New Zealand (B), North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea (B), Philippines, Portugal (B), Romania (B), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B), Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia (B), Singapore, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain (B) (NB), Sudan, Swaziland, Switzerland (B), Tajikistan (B), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey (B), Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine (B), United Arab Emirates (P), Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cameroon, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, Luxembourg, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia (Slovak Republic), Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan (China), United Kingdom.
Population
Estimated population is 13,000 - 37,000 (2010).
Status LC
Habitat loss and degradation due to wetland drainage, overgrazing, cultivation, burning, water management are the main threats. Collision with powerlines is also a threat.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Habits
Singly or in pairs.
Food
Aquatic insects, freshwater molluscs and green shoots of aquatic plants.
Voice
A harsh 'krek krek', high-speed, repetitive clicks with whirring 'chirr', and soft whining notes. Sounds like the sound of a finger scratching a comb.
Baillon's Crake (Zapornia pusilla) [XC28025]
by Stanislas Wroza from East London (near Zwelitsha), Amatole, Eastern Cape, Netherlands (call)
Baillon's Crake (Zapornia pusilla) [XC480146]
by from Saint-Joachim, Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France (song)
Nest
A slightly concave structure, with a canopy, composed of dried coarse grasses and aquatic plants, on the ground in thick cover, or in a clump of reeds or a low bush near water.
Eggs (Guide)
4 - 8, usually 5 or 6; glossy, olive-brown marked all over with fine darker streaks and spots; oval; about 28 x 20 mm. Incubation: about 16 - 18 days; by both sexes.
Clutch Size: 4 - 8, usually 5 or 6
Color: glossy, olive-brown marked all over with fine darker streaks and spots
Dimensions: 28 x 20 mm (oval)
Incubation: 16 - 18 days by both sexes
Young
Precocial, nidifugous.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with recently extinct Laysan Rail (Zapornia palmeri) of Laysan I (Hawaii). Subspecies mayri possibly synonymous with palustris.
Possible subspecies obscura, of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, doubtfully valid.
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
intermedia (Hermann, 1804) - Europe east to Asia Minor, and southern locally in Morocco, Tunisia and Ethiopia, then from eastern Zaire to central Kenya and south to Angola, Namibia and South Africa, and also Madagascar; European birds winter in Africa.
pusilla (Pallas, 1776) - R Dnestr east through central & eastern Asia to Amurland, northern China, northern Korea and Japan, south to Iran and northern India and irregularly in Sumatra and Sulawesi. Winters in India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, and from southern China to Indonesia and Philippines.
mira Riley, 1938 - Borneo.
mayri Junge, 1952 - New Guinea.
palustris Gould, 1843 - Eastern New Guinea, Australia and Tasmania.
affinis (Gray, GR, 1845) - New Zealand and Chatham Is.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet