Editing Baillon's crake

{{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 |page=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 = ([[Peter Simon Pallas|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 [[Cyperaceae|sedge]] beds in [[Europe]], mainly in the east, and across the [[Palearctic]]. They used to breed in [[Great Britain]] up to the mid-19th century, but the western European population declined through drainage. There has been a recovery in north-western Europe in recent years, 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 a dry location in wet sedge bogs, laying 4–8 [[Bird egg|eggs]]. This species is [[bird migration|migratory]], wintering in east [[Africa]] and [[south Asia]].

It is also a resident breeder in Africa and [[Australasia]]. There is a single [[North America]]n record of this species on [[Attu Island]] in September 2000.

[[File:Baillon's Crake - Coimbatore.jpg|thumb|At [[Coimbatore]], [[Tamil Nadu]]]]

===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|accessdate=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==
They are {{convert|16|–|18|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, and are similar to the only slightly larger [[little crake]]. Baillon's crake has a short straight bill, yellow or green without a red base. Adults have mainly brown upperparts with some white markings, and a blue-grey face and underparts. The rear flanks are barred black and white. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is barred underneath.

Immature Baillon's crakes are similar to the adults, but have extensively barred underparts. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails.
[[File:Baillon's Crake.jpg|thumb|left|Stuffed specimen]]

==Behaviour==
[[File:Porzana pusilla MWNH 0060.JPG|thumb|Egg, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden, Germany]]]]
[[File:Parende en poetsende kleinst waterhoen-4961757.webm|thumb |Porzana pusilla]]
These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat [[insect]]s and aquatic animals.

Baillon's crakes are very secretive in the breeding season, and are then mostly heard rather than seen. They are then noisy [[bird]]s, with a rattling call like that of the [[edible frog]], or perhaps [[garganey]]. They can be easier to see on migration or when wintering.

==Taxonomy and nomenclature==
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.

===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 species|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 |pages=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 |url-status=dead}}</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}}

[[Category:Zapornia|Baillon's crake]]
[[Category:Birds of Africa]]
[[Category:Birds of Eurasia]]
[[Category:Birds of Oceania]]
[[Category:Wintering birds of Indomalaya]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1776|Baillon's crake]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas|Baillon's crake]]