Water rail

    Rallus aquaticus

Castilian: Rascón europeo

Catalan: Rascló

Gallego: Rascón

Euskera: Uroilanda handia

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Gruiformes

Family: Rallidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

Loss of wetlands due to pollution and drainage.

Length / size: 22-28 cm / 38-45 cm

Identification: Bird with a characteristic long, red bill. Its back is brown and the feathers in the middle are black, its flanks are black- and white-striped, its covert feathers are white and the rest of its body is bluish-grey. Juveniles are mostly brown.

Song: It makes a wide variety of sounds and strident screeches that end up turning into a repetitive "gweep-gweep-gweep".

Diet: It feeds on invertebrates such as earthworms and snails, and on vertebrates such as small birds and mice, which it complements with seeds, fruits and leaf buds.

Reproduction: In courtship, the male sings with his neck outstretches, his bill open and his tail lifted to show his pale tail coverts. The nest is built on the ground, near or in water, and hidden in river vegetation; it is a platform made with dry leaves, reeds and stalks. Both adults incubate; the chicks hatch synchronously and are cared for by the adults.

HABITAT

It occupies all kinds of wetlands, preferrably with stagnated freshwater and thick river plant cover. In winter it can also occupy man-made areas like rice fields and gravel beds.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is distributed throughout Galicia, Castile and León, Catalonia, Levante, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura, the wetlands of western Andalusia, and the Balearic Islands.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout Palencia, Burgos, León, Zamora and Soria.

Movements and migrations: Nothern and eastern European populations travel to the British Isles, the Mediterranean countries, and some regions in northern Africa.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 11400-68800 breeding pairs (1997 data).

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of more than 1500 breeding pairs.