Newsletter / Blog
2012-04-02 The Little Crake still showing at Clovelly.
Little
Crake
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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Photographed by John Tinkler of Aperture
Wild Photographic and Viewing Safaris.
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