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7

White-browed Crake (Amaurornis [Porzana] cinerea) Alternate name(s): "Marsh Crake*", "Little Crake*" Size: 18-20 cm Body mass: 45-60 g

Australia: Family Group 7 Family Group 7 Table Dusky Moorhen Australasian (Purple) Swamphen Black-tailed Native-hen Tasmanian Native-hen Pale-vented Bush-hen Eurasian Coot White-browed Crake Spotless Crake Baillon's Crake Australian Spotted Crake Lewin's Rail Buff-banded Rail Red-necked Crake Chestnut Rail White-breasted Waterhen Lord Howe Woodhen Australian Bustard Brolga Sarus Crane Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description White-browed Crakes are small wetland birds. They have a grey front (throat, chest, belly) and a brown-black mottled back (black feathers with brown lining on the cap, nape of the neck, mantle, upperwings and uppertail). They are most easily distinguished by their characteristic black eye stripe that intersects white patches on their eyebrows and upper cheeks. The irises are red, the bill is yellowish-green, with an orange base and the legs and feet are also yellowish-green. They have very large feet, allowing them to walk on lilypads. Juveniles have duller colours than adults. In particular, they do not have a sooty cap yet.

Taxonomy, classification See White-browed Crake at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range 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 White-browed Crake is available HERE . The range of White-browed Crakes extends from far-eastern Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines), via eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, to south-Asian islands (such as Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands), to parts of Australia. In Australia they can be found along the entire North coast of the continent, from about Broome, WA, in the West, through the Top End of the NT (except parts of Arnhemland), along the South coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, along Cape York peninsula and southward along the QLD coast, to about the Burdekin River in the South. White-browed Crakes have a preference for well-vegetated swamps.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting a White-browed Crake at Fogg Dam NR, NT, in July 2013. P. Brown reports finding a White-browed Crake at the Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, in December 2019. M. Eaton found a White-browed Crake at McMinns Lagoon, near Darwin, NT, in July 2020. M. Eaton also spotted a White-browed Crake at Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, in September 2020 and another at Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, in September 2020. Another was spotted at Tyto Wetlands in August 2023. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports spotting a White-browed Crake at Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, in November 2020.

Photos

ADULT

Frontal view of an adult White-browed Crake in a swamp (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, July 2013]

Frontal view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, September 2020]

Near-frontal view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, September 2020]

Near-lateral view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, November 2020]

Near-lateral view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, November 2020]

Near-lateral view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, November 2020]

Near-lateral view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, July 2013]

Near-lateral view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, September 2020]

Close-up near-lateral view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, August 2023]

Lateral view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, July 2013]

Lateral view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, December 2019]

Lateral view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, September 2020]

2 lateral views of the same White-browed Crake, demonstrating how much duller they look in the shade than in sunshine
(photos courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, August 2023]

White-browed Crake picking something off a plant (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, August 2023]

Near-dorsal view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, September 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, September 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a White-browed Crake (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, September 2020]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.