Baillon’s Crake

Porzana pusilla

Order: Gruiformes
Family: Rallidae
Presence in the Strait: Vagrant
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Polluela chica

Photograph: Stephen M., CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist

Length: 17–19 cm
Wingspan: 33–37 cm
Weight: 43 g

Presence in the Strait

Accidental. Used to breed in La Janda and near Benalup. Five isolated records: at La Janda on 24.03.89, at the River Guadiaro estuary on 23.03.84, 14 & 19.04.84 and a ringed winter visitor on 29.12.90.

Identification

Similar to a Water Rail but very small, with short, green bill. Nearest population is in Malaga.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

97 %

Peak in March. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 1 October 2005
Latest record: 28 March 2023

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: DD · Data deficient · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Same genus in the Strait

Spotted Crake22–24 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Rallidae
GBIF taxon key: 9299354

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Stephen M., CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Baillon’s Crake

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Gallery