Home: Animals: Black Crake

Bio Facts
Common Name: Black Crake
Scientific Name: Limnocorax flavirostris
Family: Rallidae 
Order: Gruiformes
Class: Aves
Range: Southern Africa, East Africa, especially in Rift Valley down through South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia [ Angola, Benin (?), Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon (?), Central African Republic, Chad (?), Congo (?), Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea (?), Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea (?), Guinea-Bissau (?), Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique (?), Namibia (?), Niger, Nigeria, Portugal, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania (?), Togo, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe] 
Habitat: Freshwater wetlands, swamps, marshes, well-vegetated rivers, lakes, and ponds
Description: A marsh bird that has rounded wings, long, slender and red legs and toes, and a short thick yellow bill, small and elusive. Weight between 54-125 g, average around 86g.  Wingspan about 25 cm.
Life Expectancy:
Sexual Maturity: Nest type: deep bulky bowl over water
Incubation period: 13-19 days
Number of eggs: 3
Diet: In the wild: invertebrates, small fish, amphibians, vegetable matter. In the zoo: galliform mix, small bird fruit mix, dallas crown, insects.
Status: common
Behaviors:
Adaptations: It uses its long toes to avoid sticking in mud.
Special Interest:
Folklore:
Conservation: Many of the National Parks and Preserves that have marshes or wetlands are also home to the black crake.  Their numbers appear to be healthy and they are a widespread species.
Jacksonville Zoo History: