Little crake
Zapornia parva (Scopoli, 1769)
The little crake (Zapornia parva) is a small bird in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes. It is a migratory aquatic predator of wetland habitat that forages in the terrestrial stratum, with a trophic level of carnivore.
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Quick facts about the little crake
Adults weigh 49.7 g, with values up to 60.5 g, and have a wingspan from 34 to 39 cm. Clutches hold 7.9 eggs, with 2 clutches per year and an incubation period of 16 days; the species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 49.7 g – 60.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 17 cm – 19 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 34 cm – 39 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 5.88 years – 6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 16 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 7.9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the little crake?
Photos of the little crake
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the little crake live?
Not recorded
What is the little crake?
The little crake (Zapornia parva) is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae. parva is Latin for "small". This species was long included in the genus Porzana.
Its breeding habitat is reed beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia. This species is migratory, wintering in Africa.
At 17–19 cm (6.7–7.5 in) in length, they are slightly smaller than the spotted crake, from which they are readily distinguished by the lack of dark barring and white spots on the flanks. The little crake has a short straight bill, yellow with a red base. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is barred black and white underneath. Unlike other Zapornia crakes, this species has strong sexual dimorphism: Adult males have mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey face and underparts. They resemble the sympatric Baillon's crake (Z. pusilla), which has strongly barred flanks and is a little smaller. Females have buff underparts, and are grey only on the face; they are more similar to the yellow-breasted crake (Z. flaviventer) of the American tropics. Immature little crakes are similar to the female but have a white face and breast. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails.
These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and aquatic animals. Little crakes are very secretive in the breeding season, and are then mostly heard rather than seen. They can be easier to see on migration. They are then noisy birds, with a yapping kua call. They nest in a dry location in reed vegetation, laying 4–7 eggs.
The little crake is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
From the Wikipedia article “Little crake” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_crake&oldid=1350719002), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the little crake endangered?
The little crake is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the little crake classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGruiformes
- familyRallidae
- genusZapornia
- SpeciesZapornia parva (Scopoli, 1769)
Synonyms Crex pusilla, Gallinula minutissima, Porzana minuta, Porzana parva, Porzana parva subsp. parva, Rallus parvus, Rallus peyrousei, Zapornia minuta, Zapornia parva parva
Other names and names in other languages (76)
- Europese KleinriethaanAfrikaans
- مرعة صغيرةArabic
- Xırda porzanAzerbaijani
- Һыу бүҙәнәһеBashkir
- Малы пагонічBelarusian
- Средна пъструшкаBulgarian
- Rakig bihanBreton
- rascletóCatalan
- Пӗчӗк шывавтаньChuvash
- chřástal malýCzech
- KùropatinkaKashubian
- Rhegen FachWelsh
- Rhegennod BachWelsh
- Lille RørvagtelDanish
- KleinralleGerman
- Kleines SumpfhuhnGerman
- KleinsumpfhuhnGerman
- ΜικροπουλάδαGreek
- ΜικροπουλλάδαGreek
- eta raloEsperanto
- malgranda porzanoEsperanto
- Polluela bastardaSpanish
- väikehuikEstonian
- Uroilanda hankaberdeaBasque
- یلوه کوچکPersian
- pikkuhuittiFinnish
- Lítil tjarnarsmettaFaroese
- Râle poussinFrench
- Marouette poussinFrench
- Gearr beagIrish
- Poliña bastardaGalician
- Eean raip begManx
- ברודית קטנהHebrew
- siva štijokaCroatian
- kis vízicsibeHungarian
- Եվրոպական ճահճահովվիկArmenian
- Ճահճահովվիկ եվրոպականArmenian
- FlóðrellaIcelandic
- SchiribillaItalian
- Schiribilla comuneItalian
- Schiribilla eurasiaticaItalian
- コクイナJapanese
- ჭაობის პატარა ქათამურაGeorgian
- Кішкене тартарKazakh
- Crek byghanCornish
- Kleng RallLuxembourgish
- plovinė vištelėLithuanian
- mazais ormanītisLatvian
- сива барска кокошкаMacedonian
- Gallozz ŻgħirMaltese
- Klein WaterhoenDutch
- sumprikseNorwegian
- zielonkaPolish
- نکی کریکWestern Panjabi
- franga-d'água-bastardaPortuguese
- franga-de-água-bastardaPortuguese
- Pulsauna pitschnaRomansh
- Cresteţ micRomanian
- Cresteț cenușiuRomanian
- Малый погонышRussian
- UhcajeaggevuonccisNorthern Sami
- chriašť malýSlovak
- chriašteľ malýSlovak
- mala tukalicaSlovenian
- Porzana zogëzëAlbanian
- Sivi barski petlićSerbian
- Сиви барски петлићSerbian
- mindre sumphönaSwedish
- Chinna Kaanaan KozhiTamil
- Bataklık sutavuğuTurkish
- Bataklık SuyelvesiTurkish
- چىقچىقUyghur
- Мала курочкаUkrainian
- погонич малийUkrainian
- 姬田雞Chinese
- 姬田鸡Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the little crake
Other species in the same genus Zapornia.
Baillon's crake
Zapornia pusilla
Ruddy-breasted crake
Zapornia fusca
Brown crake
Zapornia akool
Spotless crake
Zapornia tabuensis
Black crake
Zapornia flavirostra
Red-eyed crake
Zapornia atra
CompareLittle crake vs Baillon's crakeLittle crake vs Ruddy-breasted crakeLittle crake vs Brown crakeLittle crake vs Spotless crake
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the little crake?
The little crake is a small bird in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes.
How big is the little crake?
Adults weigh 49.7 g, with values up to 60.5 g. The wingspan ranges from 34 to 39 cm.
What does the little crake eat?
The little crake is an aquatic predator, with a trophic level of carnivore.
What habitat does the little crake live in?
The little crake lives in wetland habitat and forages in the terrestrial stratum. It is migratory.
Is the little crake endangered?
No. The little crake is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the little crake live?
The little crake has a lifespan of 5.9 years, with values up to 6 years.
How many eggs does the little crake lay?
The little crake lays clutches of 7.9 eggs, with 2 clutches per year. Incubation lasts 16 days, and sexual maturity comes at 363.5 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Little crake (Zapornia parva). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-crake
“Little crake (Zapornia parva).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-crake.
@misc{little_crake_2026,
title = {Little crake (Zapornia parva)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-crake},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}