Little Crake

Zapornia parva (Scopoli, 1769)

Little Crake Zapornia parva is a rail of reed beds across southern and central Europe to north-west China, with winter quarters in central Africa. It is a very small waterbird and is slightly smaller than the spotted crake. It can be told from that species by the absence of dark barring and white spotting on the flanks. The bill is short and straight, yellow with a red base, and the legs are green with long toes. Males and females differ strongly, with males mainly brown above and blue-grey below, while females have buff underparts and grey limited to the face.

Order

Gruiformes

Family

Rallidae — Rails, Crakes & Coots

Breeding range

Palearctic: s and c Europe to nw China

Nonbreeding range

c Africa