Porzana porzana

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Habitat

Typically found in a lake at a mean distance from sea level of 101 meters (331 feet).[1]

Ecology: Behaviour This species is fully migratory1. Its Autumn dispersal to its wintering grounds beginning mid-July4, with the species returning to reoccupy its breeding grounds from April1. The species breeds in Europe from April to July and in the former USSR from May to July1. Early migrating birds (mainly juveniles ) often moult in August during stops on migration, during which they become flightless for c.3 weeks1, 3, 4. The species is territorial throughout both breeding and non-breeding seasons1 and is usually seen singly, in pairs or in family groups, although occasionally small groups of 2-4 individuals may forage together on migration3. It normally roosts at night in thick vegetation and forages by day (although this behaviour is reversed when migrating)2. Habitat The species inhabits similar habitats in both its breeding and winter ranges1, 2, 3, and generally requires very shallow water (less than c.15 cm deep, typically foraging in water less than 7 cm deep) that is rich in invertebrate food and is interspersed with stands of low vegetation cover3. The species shows a preference for freshwater wetlands with a range of water depths or where water levels vary seasonally 1, especially where these have a mixture of muddy, moist and shallowly flooded substrates1, 2 and a dense covering of grass , sedges, rushes, Polygonum, Iris, Equisetum and other emergents, as well as trees (e.g. Acacia, Sesbania, Betula, Salix and Alnus)1. Suitable habitats include seasonal and permanent marshes and fens1, 3, bogs , damp meadows, the edges of drainage ditches3, swamps , seasonally flooded pans2, pools in flooded grassland, grassy margins of reservoirs and lakes , slow-flowing rivers and sewage settling-ponds1, 2, 3. Diet The species is omnivorous , its diet consisting of small aquatic insect adults and larvae (e.g. Trichoptera, Odonata, Diptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and ants ), earthworms, molluscs1, 3, arachnids1 (e.g. spiders and water mites )3 and small stranded fish (1-2 cm long)2, as well as algae and the shoots , leaves, roots and seeds of Panicum, Oryza, Carex and Schoenoplectus1 ,3. Breeding site The nest is a thick-walled cup of plant matter, usually placed in thick vegetation near or over standing water , or alternatively in a tussock , or built up well above the water level1.

[2].

List of Habitats:

•     4     Grassland   
  
•     4.6     Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded   
  
•     5     Wetlands (inland)   
  
•     5.1     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls )   
  
•     5.3     Wetlands (inland) - Shrub Dominated Wetlands   
  
•     5.4     Wetlands (inland) - Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens , Peatlands   
  
•     5.5     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)   
  
•     5.6     Wetlands (inland) - Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)   
  
•     5.7     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)   
  
•     5.8     Wetlands (inland) - Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)   
  
•     15     Artificial/Aquatic & Marine   
  
•     15.1     Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha)   
  
•     15.6     Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas   
  
•     15.8     Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land   
  
•     15.9     Artificial/Aquatic - Canals and Drainage Channels, Ditches   
[more info]

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Porzana porzana (Linnaeus, 1766) • Porzana Vieillot 1816

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 28-Nov-2006

Similar Species

Members of the genus Porzana

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 29 species and subspecies in this genus:

P. albicollis (White-Throated Crake) · P. albicollis albicollis (White-Throated Crake) · P. astrictocarpus (Little St. Helena Rail) · P. atra (Henderson Island Crake) · P. bicolor (Black-Tailed Crake) · P. carolina (Little American Water Hen) · P. cinerea (White-Browed Crake) · P. egregia (African Crake) · P. erythrops (San Cristobal Mountain Rail) · P. flavirostra (African Black Crake) · P. flaviventer (Yellow-Breasted Crake) · P. flaviventer flaviventer (Yellow-Breasted Crake) · P. fluminea (Australian Spotted Crake) · P. fusca (Ruddy-Breasted Crake) · P. fusca fusca (Ruddy-Breasted Crake) · P. marginalis (Hudsonian Curlew) · P. monasa (Kusaie Island Crake) · P. nigra (Miller's Rail) · P. palmeri (Laysan Crake) · P. parva (Little Crake) · P. parva parva (Little Crake) · P. paykullii (Band-Bellied Crake) · P. porzana (Spotted Crake) · P. pusilla (BaillonÌs Crake) · P. pusilla pusilla (BaillonÌs Crake) · P. sandwichensis (Hawaiian Crake) · P. spiloptera (Dot-Winged Crake) · P. tabuensis (Spotless Crake) · P. tabuensis tabuensis (Spotless Crake)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A Directory of Neotropical Wetlands. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 678.
• A List of British birds / London: British Ornithologists' Union, 1915. url , , .
• A guide to the birds of Nepal Christopher Helm (Publishers) Ltd. url p. 375.
• A hand-book to the birds of Great Britain / by R. Bowdler Sharpe. London: E. Lloyd, 1896-1897. url p. 226.
• A hand-list of British birds, with an account of the distribution of each species in the British Isles and abroad. By Ernst Hartert, F. C. R. Jourdain, N. F. Ticehurst and H. F. Withersby. London, Witherby, 1912. url p. 211.
• A hand-list of genera and species of birds of the Indian empire, by E. C. Stuart Baker. .. Bombay, Printed by order of the committee of the Bombay natural history society[1923] url p. 206.
• A handbook to the vertebrate fauna of north Wales. London, Witherby & Co., 1919. url p. 59.
• A list of British birds, comp. by a committee of the British ornithologists' union. London: British ornithologists' union, 1915. url , p. 301, p. 400.
• A list of the birds of eastern North America / by Charles B. Cory. Boston: For sale by B. Whidden, 1896. url p. 15.
• A manual of North American birds by Robert Ridgway. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1887. url .
• A manual of North American birds. By Robert Ridgway. Illustrated by 464 outline drawings of the generic characters. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott company, 1896. url p. 139.
• A manual of North American birds. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1900. url p. 139.
• A manual of palæarctic birds, by H. E. Dresser. London, The author, 1902-03. url p. 706.
• A popular handbook of the birds of the United States and Canada / Boston: Little, Brown, 1921. url .
• A popular handbook of the ornithology of the United States and Canada based on Nuttall's Manual / by Montague Chamberlain. Boston: Little, Brown, 1891. url .
• American bird magazine, ornithology. Worcester, Mass.: C.K. Reed, 1903-1906. url p. 215.
• American ornithology, for home and school. [Worcester, Mass.: Charles K. Reed], 1901-[1906]. url p. 215.
• An environmental profile of the Black Sea Coast WCMC url p. 28.
• Annual report of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society. Minneapolis: The Society, 1883-1898. url p. 362.
• Ardea. Amsterdam, etc., Nederlandse Ornithlogische Unie, etc. url p. 103, p. 25.
• Biosphere Reserves, Compilation 5, October 1990: programme on man and the biosphere (MAB) IUCN url p. 11.
• Birds of the Chukchi Peninsula and Wrangel Island = (Ptitsy Chukotskogo poluostrova i ostrova Vrangelya) / L.A. Portenko; translated from Russian [by P.M. Rao]. New Delhi: Published for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., by Amerind Pub. Co., 1981- url p. 349.
• Birds of the world for young people, New York, F.A. Stokes Company[1909] url , .
• Birds. By Eugene W. Oates. London: Taylor and Francis; [etc., etc.], 1889-98. url p. 166.
• Boletim da Sociedade Portuguesa de Cie?ncias Naturais. Lisboa, Sociedade Portuguesa de Cie?ncias Naturais, 1908- url p. 165, p. 213.
• British birds. London, Witherby & Co. url p. 114, p. 122, p. 187, p. 197, p. 242, p. 245, p. 27, p. 290, p. 290, p. 348, p. 348, p. 96.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. url , p. 301.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 81 1937 Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, 1863- url p. 409, p. 68, p. 97.
• Bulletin of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [Washington, D.C.?]: Supt. of Docs., G.P.O., 1913-1923. url p. 26, p. 3.
• Catalogue of Canadian birds / by John Macoun and James M. Macoun. Ottawa: Canada Dept. of Mines, Geological Survey Branch, 1909. url p. 151.
• Catalogue of Canadian birds, Ottawa, Government Printing Bureau, 1909. url .
• Catalogue of Canadian birds. .. Ottawa, Printed by S. E. Dawson, 1900-04. url .
• Catalogue of birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands in Field Museum of Natural History and including all species and subspecies known to occur in North America, Mexico, Central America, South America, the West Indies, and islands of the Caribbean Sea, the Galapagos Archipelago, and othe 13 1942 Chicago, 1918- url p. 361.
• Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. London, 1874-98. url p. 92, p. 93, p. 95.
• Catalogue of the Collection of Birds' Eggs in the British Museum / By E. W. Oates [and afterwards] by S. G. Reid [and] W. R. Ogilvie-Grant. London, 1901-12. url p. 116.
• Catalogue of the collection of birds' eggs in the British museum (Natural history). London: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1901-12. url p. 116, p. 117.
• Check-list of North American birds / prepared by a committee of the American ornithologists' union. Lancaster, Pa.: The Union, 1931. url p. 97.
• Check-list of North American birds, prepared by a committee of the American Ornithologists' Union. New York, American Ornithologists' Union, 1910. url p. 103.
• Check-list of North American birds. [Ithaca, N.Y.]1957. url p. 156.
• Check-list of North American birds: the species of birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands / prepared by the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Orni Lawrence, Kan.: American Ornithologists' Union, 1983. url p. 154, p. 801.
• Check-list of birds of the world. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1931-1987. url p. 184.
• Checklists for the CORINE Biotopes Programme and its application in the PHARE countries of Central and East Europe: including comparisons with relevant conventions and agreements on the conservation of European species and habitats EC url p. 100, p. 9.
• Color key to North American birds, with bibliographical appendix, by Frank M. Chapman. .. with upwards of 800 drawings, by Chester A. Reed, B.S. New York, D. Appleton & Company, 1912. url p. 265, p. 265.
• Directory of Wetlands of International Importance. IUCN url p. 146, p. 215, p. 217, p. 220, p. 232, p. 234, p. 248, p. 394, p. 462, p. 520, p. 565, p. 583, p. 586, p. 588, p. 590, p. 593, p. 594, p. 603, p. 606, p. 608, p. 613, p. 67, p. 775.
• Guide to the birds of Europe and North Africa. With a biographical memoir by William Eagle Clarke. London, Gurney and Jackson, 1923. url p. 317.
• Hand-book to the birds of Great Britain. London, Allen, 1894-97. url p. 226, p. 226.
• Handbook of birds of eastern North America; with introductory chapters on the study of birds in nature, London, D. Appleton and Company, 1912. url .
• Ibis. [London]Published for the British Ornithologists' Union by Academic Press. url p. 184, p. 188, p. 215, p. 249, p. 252, p. 289, p. 300, p. 349, p. 435, p. 444, p. 451, p. 489, p. 524, p. 608, p. 63, p. 717, p. 823.
• Key to North American birds. Containing a concise account of every species of living and fossil bird at present known from the continent north of the Mexican and United States boundary, inclusive of Greenland and Lower California Boston, Estes and Lauriat, 1896. url , p. 888.
• MAB Information System: Biosphere Reserves, Compilation 4, October 1986: Supplement January 1988 UNESCO, IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url .
• Mammals of the Soviet Union / V.G. Heptner, A.A. Nasimovich, and A.G. Bannikov; scientific editor, Robert S. Hoffmann. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Libraries and National Science Foundation, 1988- url p. 429.
• Meddelelser om Grønland. København, C. A. Reitzels Forlag, 1879-1979. url p. 145.
• Natural history, by R. Lydekker [and others] London, Hutchinson, 1897. url p. 759.
• Naturalist's guide to the Americas, prepared by the Committee on the Preservation of Natural Conditions of the Ecological Society of America, with assistance from numerous organizations and individuals, assembled and edited by chairman, Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1926. url p. 744, p. 744.
• Nests and eggs of North American birds: with a chapter on ornithological and oölogical collecting (the preparation of skins, nests and eggs for the cabinet). Toronto: Musson[1900] url p. 125.
• North American birds eggs. New York: Dover Pub, [1965]. url p. 105.
• Notes on the birds of Kent / by R.J. Balston, C.W. Shepherd, and E. Bartlett. London: R.H. Porter, 1907. url p. 360.
• Official lists and indexes of names and works in zoology. London, U.K.: International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, c/o Natural History Museum, 2001. url p. 98.
• Oologia neerlandica: eggs of birds breeding in the Netherlands / by A.A. van Pelt Lechner. The Hague: Nijhoff, 1910-1913 [i.e. 1911-1913]. url , .
• Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia url p. 143, p. 143.
• Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. Washington, etc.: Entomological Society of Washington url p. 187.
• Records of the Indian Museum. Calcutta: Pub. by order of the trustees of the Indian Museum, . 1907-1962. url p. 128.
• Sketch-book of British birds / by R. Bowdler Sharpe; with coloured illustrations by A.F. and C. Lydon. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1898. url , p. 252.
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. 151 1966 Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. url p. 16.
• Special scientific report--wildlife / U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C.: The Service, 1949- url p. 116, p. 125, p. 135, p. 155, p. 183, p. 196, p. 243, p. 258, p. 281, p. 624, p. 89.
• Station bulletin. Durham, N.H.: Agricultural Experiment Station, University of New Hampshire, 1948- url p. 144, p. 58.
• Studies in bird migration, London, Gurney and Jackson; [etc., etc.]1912. url .
• Studies in bird migration, by William Eagle Clarke. .. with maps, weather charts, and other illustrations. .. London, Gurney and Jackson; [etc., etc.]1912. url p. 339, p. 64.
• The American oologists' exchange price list of North American birds' eggs, 1922 / compiled by a committee of twenty-five prominent American oologists. Lacon, Ill.: R. Magoon Barnes, 1922. url p. 51.
• The Auk. Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union, etc., 1884- url p. 124, p. 181, p. 217.
• The Canadian bird book: illustrating in natural colors more than seven hundred north American birds, also several hundred photographs of their nests and eggs / by Chester A. Reed. Toronto: Musson Book Co., c1914. url p. 133.
• The Irish naturalist. Dublin: Eason & Son, Ltd., 1892- url p. 124.
• The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Bombay: The Society, url p. 853, p. 880, p. 942.
• The Marine Mammal Commission compendium of selected treaties, international agreements, and other relevant documents on marine resources, wildlife, and the environment / compiled by Richard L. Wallace. Washington, D.C.: The Commission; 1994 url p. 688.
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• The Scottish naturalist. Arbroath [etc.]T. Buncle & Co. [etc.] url p. 102, p. 235.
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Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2009. Porzana porzana. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 04February2012.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 12, 2007:

• BeBIF Provider, Royal Museum of Central Africa - Albertian Rift Birds
• Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen, Biologiezentrum Linz
• European Environment Agency, EUNIS
• GBIF-Sweden, Bird Ringing Centre in Sweden
• Institute of Nature Conservation PAS, National System of Proetcted Areas
• Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Israel Nature and Parks Authority
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• National Chemical Laboratory, IndOBIS, Indian Ocean Node of OBIS
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• Senckenberg, Collection Aves
• The Danish Biodiversity Information Facility, Western Palearctic migrants in continental Africa
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Birds
• University of Gdansk, Bird Migration Research Station, Ringing Data from the Bird Migration Research Station, University of Gdańsk
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
• , Bird specimens
• University of Navarra, Museum of Zoology, Museum of Zoology, University of Navarra
• Upper Silesian Museum, Bytom, Upper Silesian Museum, Bird Observations

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 9244
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-176241
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 4490920
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 176241
• IUCN ID: 235034
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 141785

Footnotes

1. Standard Deviation = 128.500 based on 8,939 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
2. BirdLife International 2009. Porzana porzana. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.