Slaty-legged Crake (Rallina eurizonoides)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Slaty-legged Crake

Rallina eurizonoides (Lafresnaye, 1845)

≈24 cmLength109 gWeight

It is a secretive rail with a chestnut head and breast and black-and-white barring on the belly and flanks.

Busiest months: February–April · Most records: China, Thailand, Sri Lanka

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Rufous back, chestnut head and breast
  2. Distinct black-and-white stripes on the flanks, belly and undertail
  3. White throat, yellow bill and green legs and feet
  4. Body length about 25 cm

Male, female and young

Sexes similar; juvenile has dark brown upperparts and underparts, but retains stripes on the belly and a white throat.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: February–April · Most records: China, Thailand, Sri Lanka

Slaty-legged Crake has been recorded at 217 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 13 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Kaeng Krachan NP – Bird's hideThailand86 records
  2. Man Nai IslandThailand70 records
  3. Sinharaja Forest ReserveSri Lanka65 records
More places
  1. Cat Tien National Park – HQVietnam64 records
  2. Taman Botani Negara Shah AlamMalaysia60 records
  3. Pingtung – Pingtung University of Science and TechnologyTaiwan (China)54 records
  4. Kudawa – Sri Lanka Spurfowl SiteSri Lanka54 records
  5. Lai Chi KokHong Kong (China)53 records
  6. Yilan – Dingliao Ecological ParkTaiwan (China)53 records
  7. Cat Tien NPVietnam51 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaThailandSri LankaVietnamIndiaMalaysiaPhilippinesSingapore

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 slaty-legged crake or banded crake (Rallina eurizonoides) is a waterbird in the rail and crake family, Rallidae.

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

Questions

How big is the Slaty-legged Crake?

The Slaty-legged Crake is about ≈24 cm long and weighs around 109 g.

Where does the Slaty-legged Crake live?

Its breeding range: Oriental, Australasia: widespread. It is most often recorded in China, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

When is the best time to see the Slaty-legged Crake?

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

Is the Slaty-legged Crake endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Slaty-legged Crake as Least Concern.

What does the Slaty-legged Crake eat?

Main food: Omnivore.

What family is the Slaty-legged Crake in?

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

At a glance

Length
≈24 cm
Weight
109 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Omnivore
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
126 mm
Tail
61 mm
Bill
25 mm
Tarsus
42 mm

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

Range

Oriental, Australasia: widespread

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 2
  • Rallina eurizonoides telmatophila Myanmar to se China and Indochina | non-breeding: to Sumatra and w Java
  • Rallina eurizonoides formosana Taiwan (China), including Lanyu I.

Classification

Family
Rails, Crakes & Coots Rallidae
Genus
Rallina

Other birds in the genus Rallina

Andaman CrakeAndaman CrakeRallina canningiRed-legged CrakeRed-legged CrakeRallina fasciataRed-necked CrakeRed-necked CrakeRallina tricolorGrey-throated RailGrey-throated RailCanirallus oculeusChestnut-headed CrakeChestnut-headed CrakeAnurolimnas castaneicepsSpotted RailSpotted RailPardirallus maculatusBlackish RailBlackish RailPardirallus nigricansPlumbeous RailPlumbeous RailPardirallus sanguinolentusAsh-throated CrakeAsh-throated CrakeMustelirallus albicollisZapata RailZapata RailMustelirallus cerverai
Slaty-legged Crake

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

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