Little Crake
Little Crake ( Porzana parva )
The Little Crake ( Porzana parva ), also called small Rail, is an indigenous to Eurasia Rail bird. In East Central Europe, the Little Crake is a widespread breeding and summer bird. In Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, there are, however, only locally isolated breeding population.
Features
The Little Crake is 18 to 20 inches long and has a wingspan of 34-39 centimeters. The male is 30-72 grams, the female 36-65 grams. It thus falls together with the Baillon's Crake the smallest native species Rail. The Little Crake is up to six years old. The above- brown plumage has a blackish and white drawing. Below it is blue-gray in the male with a weak banding of the flanks, brownish in the female. From similar Baillon's Crake, the Little Crake differs by greenish and brownish- pink legs not, olive bill with red spot at the base and the lack of black banding of the flanks.
Occurrence
The Little Crake is found from Eastern Europe to Western Siberia, in Central Europe it is distributed only in the east and southeast. The distribution area of the small swamp chicken are the lowlands of the Western Palearctic. The altitudinal distribution ranges up to about 430 meters. Focal points of the distribution area are the steppes of Eastern Europe. In the north the species occurs up to the limit before the forest-steppe zone. In the south, the range extends up to the transition to the semi-deserts. In Central Europe is the type mainly on the plains of Poland and East Germany as well as the area of the so-called Pannonian Basin. Isolated occurrences there are also further to the west and southwest. The small Crake is a migratory and wintering in south-western Europe, the Mediterranean and in Eastern and Northern Africa. It pulls away in October and coming back in March.
The Little Crake lives in swampy, dense siltation zones, such as reeds, reeds and rushes stocks. It prefers high, multi-year structure and rich Schilföhricht which contain at least small adjoining open water areas or adjacent to ponds, ditches or channels. However, it also occurs in mixed stands with cattails or large sedge. Since it can also swim, it inhabits deeper in the water standing reed beds than other moorhens.
Nutrition
The Little Crake eats invertebrates and their larvae, tender plant material and seeds of aquatic plants.
Reproduction
The nest is a thick nest platform of rushes, sedges, etc., which is lined with finer plant material. Through contracted stalks the nest is well camouflaged from above. Once or twice a year, from May to June and June-July, four to eight yellowish, brown spotted, 29 mm large eggs are laid, which are incubated by both parents 21-23 days. After hatching, the chicks up to eight days remain in the nest and learn about 50 days, flying.
Behavior
The Little Crake is diurnal and is especially evident in the morning and evening. The male sings mainly at dusk. The call consists of " gak " or " Quaeck ". The unmated female has its own cries of " Pock Pock pöek " or " kikerr ".
Stock
The Little Crake is " critically endangered " on the list of endangered breeding birds of Germany as a (category 1) classified. It is a kind of Annex I of the EU Birds Directive ( 79/409/EEC RL ). The total European population is estimated at the beginning of the 21st century to about 61000-140000 breeding pairs. The largest European stocks can be found in Austria ( 12000-22000 pairs), in Ukraine ( 26000-43000 pairs), Russia ( 10,000 to 50,000 breeding pairs ). The Central European stock is at least 16000-30000 breeding pairs.
The Little Crake is one of the species in which one suspects a particularly strong impact of climate warming. A research team that examined the future diffusion trend of European breeding birds on the basis of climate models for the UK Environment Agency and the RSPB, assumes that the distribution area will be significantly fragmented until the end of the 21st century. Most breeding areas in the southeast of Europe will not provide suitable habitats more after these forecasts the Little Crake. The area loss is not compensated by new suitable habitats in the south Fennoskandinaviens.