Spotted Crake Diet and Size: Feeding Habits, Predators, and Measurements
The Spotted Crake is a small waterbird and a member of the Rallidae family. It breeds in marshlands, wetlands and sedge beds all across Europe and western Asia.
Spotted Crakes are elusive birds that dwell in vegetation close to their wetland habitats. They are easy to identify due to their short, straight bill which is yellow with a red base.
To find out more about these interesting birds keep reading.
Table of Contents
The Dietary Habits Of The Spotted Crake
Spotted Crakes use their bills to probe in soft mud or shallow water and also pick up food by sight.
What Does A Spotted Crake Eat?
Spotted Crakes eat a diet which mainly consists of small aquatic invertebrates including aquatic insects, insect larvae, earth and marine worms; they also eat slugs and snails found in their wetland habitats.
They will also eat some plant materials including algae, aquatic grasses as well as roots and seeds.
What To Feed A Baby Spotted Crake?
Although precocial, the young chicks are still fed by their parents for the first few days after hatching. Their parents feed them soft invertebrates that are protein rich including earth and marine worms as well as aquatic insects and their larvae.
If you were to find a young Spotted Crake chick you should contact a local wildlife rescue organisation for help and advice. You could try the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) or the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Breeding Habits Of Spotted Crakes
The breeding season for the Spotted Crake starts around late spring to early summer. Males establish their territories by making a series of calls and displays to attract a mate. They will flick their wings, dip their bill and perform bowing movements all in order to attract the attention of the female.
Once a pair has formed they will build a nest together which is constructed on the ground in dense vegetation close to the water’s edge. The female will lay around 5 to 8 eggs and they will typically produce 2 broods per season.
Do Spotted Crakes Mate For Life?
Although Spotted Crakes don’t mate for life, they tend to remain monogamous for the breeding season that they paired up in. They typically separate before their autumn migration.
Generally the pair will not meet up again and will both mate with a new partner the following season. Although there have been isolated cases of the same pair reuniting the following year.
The Size & Weight Of Spotted Crakes
In this section we’ll look into the size and weight of the Spotted Crake to help with identifying them from a distance.
How Much Does A Spotted Crake Weigh?
The average weight of a Spotted Crake is around 70 to 110 grams which is roughly the same weight as a cockatiel. It is also roughly the same weight as a bar of soap.
How Big Is A Spotted Crake?
Spotted Crakes are a similar size to Starlings with an overall length of around 22 to 24 cm and a wingspan of around 37 to 42 cm. Spotted Crakes tend to be slightly heavier than Starlings and there is no visible difference in the size of male and female Spotted Crakes.
Are Spotted Crakes Under Threat?
Generally speaking across the wider range of their habitats throughout the world Spotted Crakes are not considered to be a species of concern.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Spotted Crakes are considered to be a species of least concern. However, in the UK they have an Amber status on the British Birds of Conservation Concern list.
They are also protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which makes it an offence to take a bird captive, injure or kill it as well as taking any eggs.
With that said unfortunately the Spotted Crake faces similar threats to many wetland birds due to habitat loss and degradation. This can be due to pollution, the drainage of wetlands and changes in water management practices.
What Eats A Spotted Crake?
The Spotted Crake also faces the threat from predators including hawks and Owls as well as foxes, rats, stoats and weasels which are an ever present threat especially during the nesting period.
Other threats include snakes in some areas as well as cats and dogs particularly in areas where human habitats touch on their wetland habitats.
Where Can I See Spotted Crakes In The UK?
Although Spotted Crakes are elusive birds, they can often be seen in the UK at a number of locations especially during the breeding season which typically runs from April to September. You’re best chance of seeing a Spotted Crake is at one of the following sites;
- RSPB Loch of Strathbeg, Aberdeenshire
- RSPB Leighton Moss, Lancashire
- RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk
- Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire
The best time of day to see these elusive birds is around dusk or dawn when the male can often be heard calling to attract a female mate. Listen for their distinctive and repetitive whiplash-like “hwuit, hwuit” call.
SEE ALSO: Wheatear Life Cycle: Nest Building To Fledging (and everything in between)
Frequently Asked Questions
Spotted Crakes eat mainly aquatic invertebrates which include; insects, insect larvae, earth and marine worms, slugs and snails as well as some aquatic plant materials including grasses, algae as well as roots and seeds.
Spotted Crakes tend to remain monogamous just for 1 breeding season. The pair tend to split up before their autumn migration and typically mate with a different partner the following season.
Some Spotted Crakes breed in the UK. They nest in wetland and marshy habitats arriving in April and migrating to warmer climes in September.
