Porzana porzana
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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 Helsinki on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 177th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Crake in Helsinki on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
Among the best
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Spotted Crake sightings, Helsinki ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Moscow (Russia, under 5%) and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates, under 5%).
Same family: Rallidae
The closest relatives of the Spotted Crake that you can see in Helsinki (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are Eurasian Coot (about 20%), Common Moorhen (about 20%) and Water Rail (about 10%), 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 Helsinki (47 verified sightings), 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.
