{{short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | name = Baillon's crake | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2019 |title=''Zapornia pusilla'' |volume=2019 |article-number=e.T22692667A154256374 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22692667A154256374.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> | image = Porzana pusilla - Mount Annan Botanical Garden.jpg | image_caption = | taxon = Zapornia pusilla | authority = (Pallas, 1776) | synonyms = ''Porzana pusilla'' | range_map = PorzanaPusillaIUCN2019 2.png | range_map_caption = Range of ''Z. pusilla''{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} }}
'''Baillon's crake''' ('''''Zapornia pusilla'''''), also known as the '''marsh crake''', is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae.
==Distribution== Their breeding habitat is sedge beds and swamps, ranging from Eastern Europe to Honshu in Japan. The total breeding population in Europe as of 2016 was suspected to be 4,000 to 9,000 individuals.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Baillon's Crake - Porzana pusilla intermedia (now Zapornia pusilla intermedia) {{!}} AEWA |url=https://www.unep-aewa.org/document/baillons-crake-porzana-pusilla-intermedia-now-zapornia-pusilla-intermedia |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=www.unep-aewa.org}}</ref> They used to breed in Great Britain up to the mid-19th century, but the Hungarian population declined in the 20th century due to wetland drainage.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}} There has been a recovery in north-western Europe in recent years{{When|date=May 2026}}, with the recolonisation of Germany and the Netherlands, and breeding suspected in Britain; an Irish record in 2012 was the first there since the 1850s.<ref name=IrishBirds/> They nest in dry locations in wet sedge bogs, laying 4–8 eggs. This species is migratory, wintering in East Africa and South Asia, as well as being a resident breeder in Africa and Australasia.
There is a single North American record of this species on Attu Island in September 2000.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}
===Subspecies===
There are at least five subspecies of Baillon's crake:<ref name=NZB>{{cite web|url=https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/marsh-crake|publisher=New Zealand Birds Online|access-date=May 12, 2022|title=Marsh crake: ''Porzana pusilla'' (Pallas, 1776)}}</ref> * ''Zapornia pusilla affinis'' in New Zealand * ''Zapornia pusilla palustris'' in Australia and New Guinea * ''Zapornia pusilla mira'' in Borneo * ''Zapornia pusilla intermedia'' in Africa * ''Zapornia pusilla pusilla'' in Asia and other places
==Description== thumb|190px|left|Porzana pusilla They are {{convert|15|–|18|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, and are similar in appearance to the little crake. Baillon's crake has a short straight bill, yellow or green without a red base. Adults have mainly ochre-brown upperparts streaked through occasionally with black and white markings. Their underparts are a light blue-grey, paler on the throat, breast and abdomen. The flanks and under-tail are barred black and white. They have olive-green legs with long toes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Simpson |first=Ken |title=Field Guide to the Birds of Australia |last2=Day |first2=Nicholas |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1999 |isbn=0 670 87918 5 |edition=6th Revised |pages=64 |language=English}}</ref>
Immature Baillon's crakes are similar to the adults, but have extensively barred, duller underparts. The chicks are black, as with all rails.
==Behaviour== [[File:Baillon's Crake in Baruipur February 2024 by Tisha Mukherjee 03.jpg|thumb|In Baruipur, West Bengal, India.]] These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and aquatic animals.
Baillon's crakes are very secretive in the breeding season, and are mostly heard rather than seen. They are noisy birds, with a rattling call like that of the edible frog, or the garganey. They are easier to see when migrating or wintering.<ref name=":1" />
==Taxonomy and nomenclature== thumb|left|200px|Stuffed specimen [[File:Porzana pusilla MWNH 0060.JPG|thumb|200px|left|Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany]] This bird is named after French naturalist Louis Antoine Francois Baillon. The names '''marsh crake''' and '''tiny crake''' have previously been used to refer to this species. ''pusillus'' is Latin for "very small".<ref name= job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher = Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 |pages =[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n315 315], 325}}</ref>
==Status==
===International=== Baillon's crake is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA) applies.<ref name=":0" />
===Australia=== Baillon's crakes are not listed as threatened on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. However, their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example: * Baillon's crake is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988).<ref name=vic/> Under this Act, an ''Action Statement'' for the recovery and future management of this species has not yet been prepared.<ref name=guarantee/> * On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, Baillon's crake is listed as vulnerable.<ref name=DSE200/>
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=DSE200>{{cite book |author=Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment |title=Advisory List of Threatened Vertebrate Fauna in Victoria - 2007 |publisher=Department of Sustainability and Environment |year=2007 |location=East Melbourne, Victoria |page=15 |isbn=978-1-74208-039-0 |url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/tep/142009 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
<ref name=guarantee>{{cite web |title=Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act: Index of Approved Action Statements |url=http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/plants-and-animals/native-plants-and-animals/threatened-species-and-communities/action-statements/flora-and-fauna-guarantee-act-action-statements-index-of-approved-action-statements#BirdsCom |access-date=10 January 2013 |publisher=Department of Sustainability and Environment |archive-date=4 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504081716/http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/plants-and-animals/native-plants-and-animals/threatened-species-and-communities/action-statements/flora-and-fauna-guarantee-act-action-statements-index-of-approved-action-statements }}</ref>
<ref name=IrishBirds>{{cite journal |title=Irish Rare Bird Report |journal=Irish Birds |volume=9 |page=588}}</ref>
<ref name=vic>{{cite web |url=https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/110754/T14-FT117-2.2-Flora-Faua-and-Native-Vegetation-Assessment.pdf |title=Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 Threatened List March 2017 |publisher=Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment |date=9 March 2017 |access-date=19 July 2017 }}</ref> }}
==External links== {{Commons category|Zapornia pusilla}} * [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/215.pdf Baillon's crake species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds] * {{VIREO|Baillon's+crake}} * {{IUCN_Map|22692667/166237731|Zapornia pusilla}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q28122879 |from2=Q237670}}
Baillon's crake Category:Birds of Africa Category:Birds of Eurasia Category:Birds of Oceania Category:Wintering birds of Indomalaya Baillon's crake Baillon's crake