Black-tailed Crake (Zapornia bicolor)
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Black-tailed Crake

Zapornia bicolor (Walden, 1872)

≈20 cmLength57 gWeight

It has a slate-gray body, a chestnut-brown back and red eyes.

Busiest months: February and April · Most records: Bhutan, Thailand, China

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Slate-gray body
  2. Chestnut-brown back
  3. Red eyes
  4. Slender, pinkish-red legs and feet

Where and when it's recorded

Black-tailed Crake has been recorded at 67 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 6 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Doi Inthanon NPThailand130 records
  2. Thimpu Sewage LagoonsBhutan44 records
  3. Baihualing [General Area]China42 records
More places
  1. Bumthang – JakarBhutan38 records
  2. Dochula – Royal Botanical ParkBhutan34 records
  3. Dihing Patkai NP – SoraipungIndia28 records
  4. Yay Aye Kan ReservoirMyanmar (Burma)20 records
  5. Dihing Patkai NP – SoraipungIndia17 records
  6. Beihai WetlandsChina17 records
  7. Paro to ThimphuBhutan16 records

Countries and regions with the most records

BhutanThailandChinaIndiaMyanmar (Burma)Vietnam

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The black-tailed crake (Zapornia bicolor) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Black-tailed Crake?

The Black-tailed Crake is about ≈20 cm long and weighs around 57 g.

Where does the Black-tailed Crake live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: northeastern India to south-central China. It is most often recorded in Bhutan, Thailand and China.

When is the best time to see the Black-tailed Crake?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in February and April (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Black-tailed Crake endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Black-tailed Crake as Least Concern.

What does the Black-tailed Crake eat?

Main food: Omnivore.

What family is the Black-tailed Crake in?

It belongs to the family Rails, Crakes & Coots (Rallidae), order Gruiformes.

At a glance

Length
≈20 cm
Weight
57 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Omnivore
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
110 mm
Tail
50 mm
Bill
25 mm
Tarsus
35 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: northeastern India to south-central China

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Rails, Crakes & Coots Rallidae
Genus
Zapornia

Other birds in the genus Zapornia

Black CrakeBlack CrakeZapornia flavirostraSakalava RailSakalava RailZapornia olivieriRuddy-breasted CrakeRuddy-breasted CrakeZapornia fuscaBand-bellied CrakeBand-bellied CrakeZapornia paykulliiBrown CrakeBrown CrakeZapornia akoolBaillon's CrakeBaillon's CrakeZapornia pusillaLittle CrakeLittle CrakeZapornia parvaSpotless CrakeSpotless CrakeZapornia tabuensisHenderson CrakeHenderson CrakeZapornia atraGrey-throated RailGrey-throated RailCanirallus oculeus
Black-tailed Crake

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by markus lilje. ↗

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