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Species › Birds

Water Rail

Rallus aquaticus

Order
Gruiformes
Family
Rallidae
Presence in the Strait
Seasonal
Abundance
rare
IUCN (global)
LC · Least concern
In Spanish
Rascón europeo

55% of its open observations in the area are from December.

Photograph: egorbirder, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length
22–28 cm
Wingspan
38–45 cm
Weight
100–140 g
02040LENGTH22–28 cmWINGSPAN38–45 cmcentimetres

Presence in the Strait

Rare winter visitor associated with wetland vegetation and marshes. Commonly breeding in La Janda until it dried out. In 1987, breeding in Marismas del Palmones.

Identification

Dark appearance with long bill. Flies only short distances with light wingbeat and dangling feet. Difficult to find on account of its elusive behaviour, but can be detected at the heart of vegetation thanks to its strident cry and seen when coming to the edge of the same.

Movements

Postnuptial migration much more evident than prenuptial. Peaks in October.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Gallery

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.