- Zapornia tabuensis
Identification
15–18 cm (6-7 in)
- Lead grey head and underparts swith bluish iridescence
- Dark brown upperparts
- Undertail black barred with white
- B bill
- Red eye, eye–ring and legs
Distribution
The Philippines to Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and large parts of Oceania.
Taxonomy
Placed in genus Porzana by IOC.
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]:
- Z. t. tabuensis - Philippines, Australasian region and Oceania
- Z. t. edwardi - Central highlands of Papua New Guinea
- Z. t. richardsoni - West New Guinea (Jayawijaya Mountains)
- Z. t. plumbea - South East and south-western Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and Chatham Island
Habitat
Dense vegetation at the edge of freshwater or saline wetlands.
Behaviour
Shy and elusive.
Diet
Their main diet consists of molluscs and other crustaceans; and both adult and larval insects.
Breeding
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Jan 2018)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Spotless Crake. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Spotless_Crake
