• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• Reference and further resources

Justification of Red List category
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km² combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation).  Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations).  The population size may be small, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure).  For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Population justification
The population is estimated to number 1,000-25,000 individuals, roughly equating to 670-17,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification
The population is thought to be in decline (Wetlands International 2006) owing to continued habitat loss and degradation.

Behaviour  This species is a wet-season migrant, moving between ephemeral habitats in response to seasonal rainfall and drought (del Hoyo et al. 1996).  It breeds during the rains (del Hoyo et al. 1996) in polyandrous groups (Taylor and van Perlo 1998), with territorial males nesting solitarily (Urban et al. 1986).  The species forages diurnally (Taylor and van Perlo 1998) with most activity occurring in the late afternoon and evening (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998), roosting at night in grass clumps or on roosting platforms in vegetation (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). Habitat  Breeding  This species shows a preference for areas on higher ground (Urban et al. 1986) with shallow pools, muddy patches and grasses up to 1 m tall (Urban et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996), generally avoiding tall, dense vegetation in permanent marshes (Urban et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998), areas with water more than 20-30 cm deep (del Hoyo et al. 1996) and streams liable to heavy flooding (Urban et al. 1986).  It typically inhabits seasonally inundated tussocky grasslands which dry out and burn in the dry season (Urban et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998), as well as river flood-plains (Taylor and van Perlo 1998), temporary pans, short-grass dambos, old rice-fields, and the edges of marshes, ponds and ditches (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998).  Non-breeding  The species's habitat requirements on migration and during the non-breeding season are less well known (Taylor and van Perlo 1998), although they appear to be similar to breeding season requirements (Urban et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996).  Habitats frequented during this season include inundated grassland and pool edges, beds of fine reeds near streams, short sedge and grass clumps fringing shallow water (Urban et al. 1986, Taylor and van Perlo 1998) and marshy savanna with small scattered thickets (Ghana) (Urban et al. 1986).  Diet  Its diet consists of earthworms, small snails, spiders, beetles, grasshoppers, flies, moths, insect larvae, small fish and tadpoles (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998).  Breeding site  The nest is a shallow bowl or platform of vegetation, typically constructed 10-25 cm above the water in a tuft of grass, or occasionally floating or positioned above damp ground (del Hoyo et al. 1996).  The species sometimes builds false nests which it abandons before completion (del Hoyo et al. 1996).

The species is threatened by habitat loss as a result of overgrazing (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998) and the damming, draining and cultivation of seasonal and ephemeral wetlands (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor and van Perlo 1998).

Text account compilers
Malpas, L., Butchart, S., Ekstrom, J.

Contributors
Dowsett, R.J.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Striped Crake Amaurornis marginalis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/striped-crake-amaurornis-marginalis on 26/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 26/12/2024.