Crex egregia
Silhouette: Michael Day · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The African crake (Crecopsis egregia) is a small- to medium-size ground-living bird in the rail family, found in most of central to southern Africa. It is seasonally common in most of its range other than the rainforests and areas that have low annual rainfall. This crake is a partial migrant, moving away from the equator as soon as the rains provide sufficient grass cover to allow it to breed elsewhere. There have been a few records of vagrant birds reaching Atlantic islands. This species nests in a wide variety of grassland types, and agricultural land with tall crops may also be used.
A smallish crake, the African crake has brown-streaked blackish upperparts, bluish-grey underparts and black-and-white barring on the flanks and belly. It has a stubby red bill, red eyes, and a white line from the bill to above the eye. It is smaller than the corn crake, which is also lighter-plumaged, and has an eye stripe. The African crake has a range of calls, the most characteristic being a series of rapid grating krrr notes. It is active during the day, and is territorial on both the breeding and non-breeding grounds; the male has a threat display, and may fight at territory boundaries. The nest is a shallow cup of grass leaves built in a depression under a grass tussock or small bush. The 3–11 eggs start hatching after about 14 days, and the black, downy precocial chicks fledge after four to five weeks.
The African crake feeds on a wide range of invertebrates, along with some small frogs and fish, and plant material, especially grass seeds. It may itself be eaten by large birds of prey; snakes; or mammals, including humans, and can host parasites. Although it may be displaced temporarily by the burning of grassland, or permanently by agriculture, wetland drainage or urbanisation, its large range and population mean that it is not considered to be threatened. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 8 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 9 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 10 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 11 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Crake sighting in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 414th most-seen of the 424 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 an African Crake in Murchison Falls National Park 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 African Crake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
14th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate African Crake sightings, Murchison Falls National Park ranks 14th at under 5%. The best odds are in Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 10%), Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, about 10%) and Ruaha National Park (Tanzania, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Crake is recorded against all the birds logged in Murchison Falls National Park (5 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.
