The Little Crake - Porzana parva – at Covelly wetlands, Western Cape, South Africa. A mega sighting of a female Little Crake, the first for Southern Africa.

The Little Crake - Porzana parva – breeds in Europe, mainly Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It winters in north east Africa and parts of West Africa.

Description

Male has blue-grey face and underparts, with narrow white bars on rear flanks and black and white barring on undertail-coverts. Female has blue-grey replaced by buff except for pale ash grey lupercilium, lores and cheeks, and whitish chin and throat. They have a short straight yellow bill, with a red base. The legs are green with long toes, and a short tail which is barred black and white underneath. The chicks are downy black.

Call

Contact calls include soft, rhythmic tapping and a yapping kua call. Alarm call is a sharp "Tyicuk".

Food

Food consists mainly of insects, especially water beetles and also Hemiptera, Neuroptera, and adult and larval Diptera, and also seeds and aquatic plants, worms, gastropods, spiders and water mites.

Breeding

Breeds from May to August. Monogamous and territorial, pair-bond maintained only during breeding season. Nest a shallow, made of plant stems and leaves, placed in thick vegetation near or over water, often raised on tussock or platform of dead material. Between 4 and 9 eggs are laid. The incubation period is between 21 to 23 days.

Conservation Status – Least Concern

This species has a large range, with an estimated global population between 100,000-1,000,000 individuals.

Birdwatching

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