Common name: Spotted Crake
Scientific name: Porzana porzana
Family: Rallidae

Size:
Body length: 19–22 cm
Wingspan: 37–42 cm
Weight: 60–110 g

Identification:
A small, compact rail with a short bill and rounded body. The upperparts are olive-brown covered with numerous small white spots, giving it a distinctive “spotted” appearance. The underparts are bluish-grey, and the flanks are barred with black and white. The bill is short and greenish with a reddish base. Legs are greenish.

Habitat:
Dense wetland vegetation such as reedbeds, marshes, flooded grasslands, and edges of shallow water.

Status in the UAE:
Scarce passage migrant and winter visitor. Occasionally recorded in suitable wetlands.

Status in Lebanon:
Passage migrant and winter visitor. Found in wetlands with dense vegetation.

Diet:
Carnivorous — feeds on aquatic insects, worms, crustaceans, and small invertebrates.

Behavior:
Very secretive and rarely seen in the open. Moves quietly through dense vegetation. More often detected by movement or sound than by sight. Forages along muddy edges and shallow water, picking prey delicately.

Conservation status:
Least Concern (IUCN Red List)