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Australian Spotted Crakes are small wetland birds. They have highly cryptic plumage. Their front (sides of head, throat, breast) is slate-grey, the back (cap, nape of neck) is brown mottled with grey, while the wings are brown with black and white speckles. Most of the underparts, from chin to upper belly, are bluish-grey. The lower belly and vent are heavily barred dark-brown and white, while the undertail is a bright white chevron with a black centre. Males have a small sooty face mask that is absent in females. The irises of both sexes are red, while the legs and feet are greenish-yellow. The bill, which is also greenish-yellow, has a small orange base and dark top edge of the upper mandible. Immature Australian Spotted Crakes have slightly duller colours than adults. Juveniles are plainer yet, without any black or bluish-grey parts on them; they are streaked, barred and speckled off-white and brown.

Twitcher's tip

Compared to Baillon's Crakes, Australian Spotted Crakes are darker and have the characteristic chevron-shaped white patch on their undertail.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Australian Spotted Crake is available HERE .

Australian Spotted Crakes are endemic to Australia. They can be found along the East and South coast of Australia, including eastern Tasmania, and along the rivers of the semi-arid interior, including parts of the Murray-Darling Basin and the Lake Eyre Basin. They also occur along the South and West coast of WA, from where they can disperse further inland and northward up to the Kimberley. In the South-East of Australia they can disperse northwards up to about central QLD. They are not found in northern QLD, including Cape York peninsula, the NT northward of the tropic of Capricorn, the western half of SA and the eastern half of WA.

Australian Spotted Crakes live in dense vegetation around both fresh and brackish/saline swamps, along lakes, rivers and in estuaries.

Where to look? How to find this species?

If you see a small dark bird skulking along the edges of water, it is most likely to be an Australian Spotted Crake. Note that crakes are very small birds - much smaller than other waterfowl! One's first impression may just be a subconsciously noted movement before the eyes will focus on the bird.

An Australian Spotted Crake was first seen by us at Macquarie Marshes NR, NSW, in April 2011.

A. Lines reports spotting Australian Spotted Crakes after heavy rainfall, when ephemeral wetlands are full, and in floodwaters. They are also spotted occasionally at sewage ponds 15 km North-West of Moree. In October 2011, an Australian Spotted Crake was seen there with 3 feathered chicks.

A juvenile Australian Spotted Crake was spotted by us in a swamp at Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, in August 2012. An adult bird was seen there in January 2013.

Next a single adult Australian Spotted Crake was seen by us and R. Druce in a riverine wetland with tall reeds on the Namoi River near Harparary, about 40 km South of Narrabri, NSW, in December 2012.

F. Japp reports spotting in total 11 Australian Spotted Crakes at Lake Hawthorn, Mildura, VIC, in June 2014.

J. Greaves reports spotting an Australian Spotted Crake at Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, in January 2015.

B. Hensen reports finding Australian Spotted Crakes in various wetlands in Sydney, e.g. at Eastlake Golf Course. Another one was found at Fivebough swamp, Leeton, NSW, in November 2012.

R. Plumtree found an Australian Spotted Crake at the Montecollina bore, off the Strzelecki Track, SA, in November 2018.

M. Eaton found Australian Spotted Crakes around the settling ponds at the Helidon, QLD, Sewage Treatment Plant in February 2019. Another was found at Kingsford Smith Memorial Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, in April 2023.

M. Windeyer reports spotting Australian Spotted Crakes in an ephemeral wetland 20 km West of Gilgandra, NSW, in October 2020, where they were found building a nest at the time.

In January 2023 we found an Australian Spotted Crake in an ephemeral wetland ca. 40 km South of Mungindi, NSW.