Common name: Little Crake (مرعة صغيرة)
Scientific name: Zapornia parva
Family: Rallidae

Size:
Body length: 17–19 cm
Wingspan: 34–39 cm
Weight: approximately 40–70 g

Identification:
A very small and elusive rail with a compact body, short tail, and relatively short bill. Adult males show a distinctive slate-grey face and breast contrasting with warm brown upperparts and flanks marked with fine white barring. Females are generally browner overall with less grey on the underparts. The bill is short with a reddish base and yellowish tip, and the legs are greenish. Its secretive nature and preference for dense marsh vegetation make it difficult to observe, often revealing itself only briefly as it moves quietly along the edges of reeds or floating plants.

Habitat:
Prefers shallow freshwater wetlands with dense vegetation, including reedbeds, marshes, ponds, flooded meadows, and slow-moving water bodies. It is usually associated with thick cover such as reeds, sedges, and floating plants where it can move concealed close to the water’s edge. During migration it may also appear in small lagoons, irrigation ponds, and vegetated wetland margins.

Status in the UAE:
Rare passage migrant and winter visitor. It is occasionally recorded at well-vegetated wetlands and reedbeds across the UAE, though its secretive behavior means it is easily overlooked. Most records involve single birds found during migration periods at suitable marsh habitats.

Diet:
Carnivorous — feeds mainly on small aquatic invertebrates including insects, larvae, worms, mollusks, and small crustaceans. It also takes small tadpoles and occasionally plant material while foraging along muddy edges and among aquatic vegetation.

Behavior:
Highly secretive and mostly active within dense vegetation, rarely venturing into open water. It walks lightly across mud, floating plants, and shallow water while picking small prey. The species is more often detected by its soft calls than by sight and may briefly emerge at the edges of reeds during quiet periods, especially at dawn and dusk.

Conservation status:
Listed as Least Concern globally due to its wide breeding range across parts of Europe and western Asia. Despite this, it remains a scarce and irregular visitor in the UAE with relatively few confirmed records.