Alternative names: Red-eyed Crake; Henderson Island Crake; North's Crake
- Zapornia atra
Porzana atra
Identification
18 cm (7 in). A flightless rail.
- Deep black plumage with slight greyish gloss
- Red eyes and legs
- Blackish bill, yellowish green at base and along culmen
Sexes similar but female has less yellowish green on bill and legs plain red to orange.
Juveniles are greyer than adults on throat and on underparts, they also have black legs.
Distribution
Endemic to Henderson Island, Pitcairn Islands, South Pacific.
A restricted-range species, range is only 37 km². Fairly common despite introduced Polynesian rat.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Forms a superspecies with Spotless Crake and Kosrae Crake.
Placed in genus Porzana.
Habitat
Found in thick Pisonia forest and Timonius thickets, also in Pandanus-Thespesia-Argusia embayment forest and coconut groves.
Absent only from pinnacled limestone and low vegetation at southern end of island.
Behaviour
A flightless species, bold and curious. Active all day.
Diet
Feeds on molluscs, insects, large nematodes, spiders and skink eggs. An opportunistic feeder.
Forages by turning leaf litter with bill, head-tossing litter aside and scratching with feet.
Breeding
Breeding season July to February. A monogamous species with permanent pair-bond, probably also permanently territorial. The nest is placed up to 30 cm above the ground in a Pandanus leaf clump or at the base of a Pandanus trunk. Lays 2 to 3 eggs.
Movements
This is a resident species.
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 August 2014)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Henderson Crake. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 7 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Henderson_Crake
