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Baillon's Crakes are small wetland birds. They have highly cryptic plumage. Their front (sides of head, throat, breast) is light-grey. The cap and nape of the neck and uppertail are brown, while the wings are brown with dark-brown and white speckles. The irises are red, the bill, legs and feet are olive-green. Juvenile Baillon's Crakes have paler colours than adults; in particular, their front is rufous to light-brown, rather than grey, and they have near-white malar stripes.

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 Baillon's Crake is available HERE .

Baillon's Crakes are a partially migratory species with a wide-ranging distribution. The Eurasian population breeds in parts of (mainly eastern) Europe and farther East, northwards of the North coast of the Black Sea, into central Asia. Recent records establish that they are also found in parts of Germany, the Netherlands and France. The European population migrates South to spend the northern winters in East Africa, while the Asian population tends to migrate towards South Asia. On their migrations they are occasionally found in areas such as e.g. Asia Minor, the Middle East and Arabia. There are also sedentary populations in southern Asia and in Australia.

In Europe, apart from isolated locations mostly in France, but also in Germany and the Netherlands, Baillon's Crakes, race "palustris", are breeding migrants to the South-east of the continent, mainly Bulgaria, Romania, Bielorussia, Ukraine and south-western Russia. During their migration they can also be found in parts of Hungary and Greece, Sardinia and southen Spain.

Baillon's Crakes have a preference for well-vegetated swamps around freshwater and brackish water. They often shelter in sedges or reeds.

Race "palustris"