Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Breeding) [CR(br)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Porzana porzana |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1766) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | RBBP data suggest significant increase in long term but decline (-12%) in last 10 years |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Rare breeding species, restricted habitat, nighttime calling habit and cessation of calls once paired |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | if suitable areas of wet fen created in large wetland complexes. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Nocturnal surveys are need for this species |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Regular monitoring at suitable breeding sites and increased knowledge of species' breeding habits to ensure habitat management accommodates the needs of the species
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Fens
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Targeted creation of wet fen habitat in priority areas from which the species can directly benefit.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat creation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Fens
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Consider and as appropriate implement the recommendations of SPA Reviews for this species. This should include both outstanding actions from the 2001 SPA Review and additional recommendations from the 2016 Review. Up to date evidence is also required.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Site protection
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Somerset levels, Nene washes, Ouse Washes, Lower Derwent valley
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.