Red-legged Crake
Rallina fasciata
Small, brightly-colored crake of wet patches in dense forests; occasionally can be found in parks and edge areas with suitable habitat. Brown with an orange head and zebra-striped sides. Bright red patch of bare skin around the eye gives it a somewhat startled appearance. Candy-red (instead of dark) legs distinguish it from Slaty-legged Crake, and dainty, smaller-billed appearance distinguish it from Ruddy-breasted and Band-bellied Crakes. Generally shy and unobtrusive, moving quietly through wet vegetation. Tends to be difficult to see, but generally common and reliable in Singapore and some areas of Thailand.
Identification
It is a medium-large crake (length 24 cm). Its head, neck and breast red-brown, paler on throat. Its upper parts are grey-brown. Underparts and underwings are barred black and white. Its bill is green and its legs are red.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Rallina fasciata
- Authority
- (Raffles, 1822)
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Rallina
Range and habitat
Found in far north-eastern India, eastern Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Indonesia. It is recorded as a vagrant to north-western Australia. It is located in dense vegetation close to permanent wetlands.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Its clutch consists of 3-6 dull-white eggs.<p>Series of descending croaks, screams and grunts.
Conservation
With a large range and no evidence of significant decline, this species is assessed as being of least concern.
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Moustached Woodcreeper
Xiphocolaptes falcirostris
Large, heavy-billed woodcreeper. Has rather unmarked plumage, but note the buffy eyebrow, moustachial stripe, and throat. No other woodcreeper within its range has such a large, strong bill. Inhabits deciduous dry forests and wooded caatinga. Song is a whining series of unmelodic notes, such as “nk-wiirh, week! weeer, weeer, weeur, weuur.”
Southern Variable Pitohui
Pitohui uropygialis
A fairly large bird of mainly secondary lowland and foothill forest edge. As the name suggests, a variably plumaged bird. Males mostly have a black hood, wing and tail with belly and back, chestnut or orange-brown. Males and females of some races have a brown head. Very similar to Hooded Pitohui, but Southern Variable is usually found at lower elevation and has black rather than brown above the base of the tail. Song, a varied, jumbled warble.
Luzon Flameback
Chrysocolaptes haematribon
A large woodpecker of lowland and foothill wooded areas on Luzon and neighboring islands, with a red back, a yellowish belly with indistinct patterning, and black on the tail, edge to the wing, neck, and chest. Note the obvious white spotting on the chest, neck, and line behind the eye. Angled crest is black with white spots in the female and red in the male. Unmistakable. The only other similarly sized woodpecker in its range is Northern Sooty-Woodpecker, which is entirely dark. Voice includes a series of short ringing notes, “ki-ki-ki-ki-ki!”
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.