Porzana fluminea
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The Australian crake (Porzana fluminea), also known as Australian spotted crake, or spotted crake is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is the only species of Australian crake in the genus Porzana. The Australian crake was formally described in 1843 by the English ornithologist John Gould and given the binomial name Porzana fluminea. He specified the type locality as New South Wales. The specific epithet is from Latin flumineus meaning "riverine" (from flumen meaning "river"). The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The Australian crake measures 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) in length, weighs 55–70 g (1.9–2.5 oz) and has a wingspan of 27–33 cm (11–13 in). It is similar in appearance and behaviour to Baillon's crake (Porzana pusilla), but the Australian crake is stockier and darker overall and lacks the distinctive barred undertail of the Baillon's crake (Porzana pusilla). The Australian crake has a sooty face with steel-blue/dark grey breast, belly and throat. Brown upperparts, including the crown, are streaked black and white, with barred black and white flanks. Shorter undertail coverts are black and longer undertail coverts are white...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Phillip Island Nature Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Crake sighting in Phillip Island Nature Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 128th most-seen of the 149 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.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Crake in Phillip Island Nature Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Australian 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.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Australian Crake sightings, Phillip Island Nature Park ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Great Otway National Park (Australia, under 5%) and Grampians National Park (Australia, under 5%).
Same family: Rallidae
The closest relatives of the Australian Crake that you can see in Phillip Island Nature Park (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are South-west Pacific Swamphen (about 60%), Eurasian Coot (about 20%) and Dusky Moorhen (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Australian Crake is recorded against all the birds logged in Phillip Island Nature Park (16 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.
