CreatureData

Ruddy-breasted crake

Zapornia fusca (Linnaeus, 1766)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The ruddy-breasted crake (Zapornia fusca) is a species in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes. Recorded adults weigh 57.3 g to 60 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Ruddy-breasted crake (Zapornia fusca)
Photo: J.M.Garg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the ruddy-breasted crake

Weight
57.3 g – 60 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
5.2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the ruddy-breasted crake live?

Not recorded

What is the ruddy-breasted crake?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The ruddy-breasted crake (Zapornia fusca), or ruddy crake, is a waterbird in the rail and crake family Rallidae, formerly included in the genus Porzana.

Its breeding habitat is swamps and similar wet areas across South Asia from the Indian subcontinent east to south China, Japan and Indonesia. It has been recorded as a vagrant from the Australian territory of Christmas Island. It is mainly a permanent resident throughout its range, but some northern populations migrate further south in winter.

This crake nests in a dry location on the ground in marsh vegetation, laying 6-9 eggs.

The ruddy-breasted crake is about 22–23 cm long. The body is flattened laterally to allow easier passage through the reeds or undergrowth. It has long toes and a short tail. The back is pale brown, the head and underparts chestnut, and with white barring on the flanks and undertail. The bill is yellowish, and the eyes, legs, and feet are red.

The sexes are similar, but juveniles are dark brown with some white spotting.

These birds probe in mud or shallow water and also pick up food by sight. They forage for shoots, berries and insects, as well as large snails, which they eat by using their bills to peck through the hard shell.

Ruddy-breasted crakes are territorial, but are quite secretive, hiding amongst grassy shrubs and bushes when disturbed.

From the Wikipedia article “Ruddy-breasted crake” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruddy-breasted_crake&oldid=1350719118), 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 ruddy-breasted crake endangered?

The ruddy-breasted crake is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the ruddy-breasted crake classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGruiformes
  5. familyRallidae
  6. genusZapornia
  7. SpeciesZapornia fusca (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms Amaurornis fuscus, Porzana fusca, Rallus fuscus

Other names and names in other languages (41)
  • مرعة محمرة الصدرArabic
  • লালবুক গুরগুরিBangla
  • Rasclet pit-rogencCatalan
  • rasclet de pit rogencCatalan
  • chřástal hnědoprsýCzech
  • rhegen frongochWelsh
  • Rødbrystet RørvagtelDanish
  • ZimtsumpfhuhnGerman
  • rufbrusta raloEsperanto
  • Polluela pechirrufaSpanish
  • kaneelhuikEstonian
  • kiinanhuittiFinnish
  • Râle brunFrench
  • Marouette bruneFrench
  • ברודית חומת-חזהHebrew
  • riđoprsa štijokaCroatian
  • fahéjszínű vízicsibeHungarian
  • Tikusan merahIndonesian
  • Schiribilla foscaItalian
  • Schiribilla pettorossiccioItalian
  • ヒクイナJapanese
  • 쇠뜸부기사촌Korean
  • raudonkojė švygždaLithuanian
  • rūsganais ormanītisLatvian
  • ചുകന്ന നെല്ലിക്കോഴിMalayalam
  • Bruin PorseleinhoenDutch
  • kastanjerikseNorwegian
  • kureczka kasztanowataPolish
  • sanã-de-peito-ruivoPortuguese
  • franga-d'água-de-peito-ruivoPortuguese
  • franga-de-água-de-peito-ruivoPortuguese
  • Красноногий погонышRussian
  • chriašť červenkavýSlovak
  • Riđogrudi barski petlićSerbian
  • rödbrun sumphönaSwedish
  • นกหนูแดงThai
  • Kızıl Göğüslü YelveTurkish
  • погонич індійськийUkrainian
  • 緋秧雞Chinese
  • 緋秧雞〔紅胸田雞〕Chinese
  • 红胸田鸡Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the ruddy-breasted crake

Other species in the same genus Zapornia.

LC, Least Concern
Black crake (Zapornia flavirostra)

Black crake

Zapornia flavirostra

Rallidae

CompareRuddy-breasted crake vs Baillon's crakeRuddy-breasted crake vs Little crakeRuddy-breasted crake vs Brown crakeRuddy-breasted crake vs Spotless crake

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the ruddy-breasted crake?

An adult ruddy-breasted crake weighs 57.3 g – 60 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the ruddy-breasted crake endangered?

The ruddy-breasted crake is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the ruddy-breasted crake?

The ruddy-breasted crake (Zapornia fusca) belongs to the family Rallidae in the order Gruiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Ruddy-breasted crake (Zapornia fusca). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruddy-breasted-crake

MLA

“Ruddy-breasted crake (Zapornia fusca).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruddy-breasted-crake.

BibTeX
@misc{ruddy_breasted_crake_2026,
  title = {Ruddy-breasted crake (Zapornia fusca)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruddy-breasted-crake},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}