Ruddy-breasted Crake

In the rail and crake family Rallidae, the ruddy-breasted crake (Zapornia fusca), or ruddy crake, is a waterbird.

From the Indian subcontinent east to southern China , Japan and Indonesia, its breeding area is swamps and related wetlands in South Asia. It has been reported from Christmas Island's Australian territories as a vagrant. Throughout its range, it is mostly a permanent resident, though some northern populations migrate further south in winter.

In mud or deeper water, these birds measure and even pick up food by sight. They drill for shoots, fruit, and insects, as well as large snails, which they feed by pecking through the hard shell with their bills.

Ruddy-breasted crakes are territorial, but when disturbed, they are very secretive, hidden amongst grassy shrubs and bushes.