Home: Things to See & Do: 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 it’s 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:
References

References:

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birds/Index/default.cfm?id=555
http://www.kenyabirds.org.uk/black_crake.htm
http://www.meandmephoto.com/Africa/Pages/Birds/BCrake.html
http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/safring/results/0203.htm
http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/africazambia.htm
http://www.wcmc.org.uk/species/data/birdlife/index.html
http://www.hmns.org/files/education/TeacherResourcePacket.pdf