Porzana porzana
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The spotted crake (Porzana porzana) is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. The scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails. The spotted crake's 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. This species is migratory, wintering in Africa and Pakistan.
At 19–22.5 cm (7.5–8.9 in) length, spotted crakes are slightly smaller than water rails, from which they are readily distinguished by the short straight bill, yellow with a red base. Adults have mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey breast, with dark barring and white spots on the flanks. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is buff underneath.
Immature spotted crakes are similar, but the blue-grey is replaced by brown. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails. One confusion species is the sora, a rare vagrant from North America. However, that species lacks the breast spotting and has an unstreaked crown stripe.
These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and aquatic animals. Spotted crakes are very secretive in the breeding season, and are then mostly heard rather than seen. They are then noisy birds, with a distinctive repetitive whiplash-like hwuit, hwuit call. They can be easier to see on migration.
The spotted crake is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The Western European population has declined in recent decades, and the species is now a very rare breeding bird in Great Britain. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bioparc Fuengirola | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Crake sighting in Camargue on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 183rd most-seen of the 212 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Crake in Camargue on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months. That is one of Camargue's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain against 10 mm in July.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Crake sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Spotted Crake sightings, Camargue ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Biebrza National Park (Poland, about 10%) and Hortobágy National Park (Hungary, under 5%).
Same family: Rallidae
The closest relatives of the Spotted Crake that you can see in Camargue (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are Eurasian Coot (about 60%), Common Moorhen (about 30%) and Western Swamphen (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Crake is recorded against all the birds logged in Camargue (13 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
