The ruddy-breasted crake (''Zapornia fusca''), or ruddy crake, is a waterbird in the rail and crake family

Rallidae Rails (avian family Rallidae) are a large, Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of small- to medium-sized terrestrial and/or semi-amphibious birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity in its forms, and includes ...

, formerly included in the genus ''

Porzana ''Porzana'' is a genus of birds in the crake and rail family, Rallidae. Its scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails. The spotted crake (''P. porzana'') is the type species. Taxonomy The genus ''Porzana'' was erected by t ...

''. Its breeding habitat is

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s and similar wet areas across

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

east to south

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. It has been recorded as a vagrant from the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n territory of

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

. It is mainly a permanent resident throughout its range, but some northern populations

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

further south in winter. Ruddy-breasted Crake

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

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s. 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 A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s, as well as large

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

s, 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.

References

;Notes ;Sources * ''Birds of India'' by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, {{Taxonbar, from=Q1076585

ruddy-breasted crake 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 In ...

Birds of East Asia Birds of South Asia Birds of Southeast Asia