Common name: Baillon’s Crake
Scientific name: Zapornia pusilla
Family: Rallidae

Size:
Body length: 16–18 cm
Wingspan: 26–31 cm
Weight: Approximately 25–40 g

Identification:
A very small and secretive rail with a short bill, rounded wings, and a compact body adapted for moving through dense wetland vegetation. Adults are dark olive-brown above with fine white speckling, while the face and underparts are greyish with distinct black-and-white barring on the flanks and belly. The bill is greenish, the legs are green to yellowish, and the eye is reddish. Its cryptic coloration provides excellent camouflage among reeds and marsh plants, making the species difficult to observe in the wild.

Habitat:
Freshwater marshes, reedbeds, wet meadows, and shallow wetlands with dense emergent vegetation. It favors areas with thick cover such as sedges, reeds, and grasses where it can move concealed close to the water or muddy edges.

Status in the UAE:
Scarce passage migrant and winter visitor. Recorded occasionally in suitable wetland habitats including marshes, lagoons, and reedbeds where dense vegetation provides shelter.

Diet:
Omnivorous — feeds on small aquatic insects, larvae, worms, crustaceans, and seeds picked from shallow water, mud, or vegetation.

Behavior:
Extremely secretive and rarely seen in the open. Usually detected briefly as it slips quietly through reeds or marsh vegetation. It often forages along the edges of shallow water, moving cautiously and relying on cover to avoid predators.

Conservation status:
Least Concern (IUCN Red List)