Red-legged Crake

Scientific Name: Rallina fasciata

Malay Name: Sintar-Merah Kaki Api

Chinese Name: 红腿斑秧鸡

Range: Found from Northeast India to Southeast Asia with northern populations wintering to the south.

Taxonomy: Monotypic.

Size: 22-25 cm

Identification: Adult has chestnut-tinged brown upperparts, mostly dull chestnut head and breast, black-and-whitish bars on wing-coverts, distinctive bold black-and-whitish bars on lower breast to vent and red legs and feet. Juvenile resembles adult but has paler brown upperparts, head, neck and breast, underparts bars duller and much less distinct and brownish-yellow legs.

Similar looking species: Slaty-legged Crake, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Band-bellied Crake

Habitat: Streams and wet areas in forest, secondary growth, gardens and parks.

Behaviour/Ecology: Forages by carefully walking through wet areas of secondary growth and forest, and picking up food items with its bill from the wet ground and leaf litter.

Local Status: Common resident and migrant (?)

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Location: Singapore Botanic Gardens, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Bukit Batok Nature Park, Central Catchment Forest, Lorong Halus, Sungei Buloh and Gardens by the Bay.

Featured articles:

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Juvenile Red-legged Crake at SBG. Photo Credit: Con Foley
Red-legged Crake at Lorong Halus. Photo Credit: Mohamad Zahidi Hamid.
Red-legged Crake at SBG. Photo Credit: Con Foley
Red-legged Crake at SBG. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Red-legged Crake at SBG. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Red-legged Crake at SBG. Photo Credit: Con Foley
External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Red-legged Crake)

References:

BirdLife International. (2016). Rallina fasciata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692314A93347601.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Singapore Birds Project. (n.d.). Red-legged Crake. Retrieved on May 29, 2023 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/red-legged-crake.