Photographer: Adam Riley   Destination: Zambia

Featured above is one of the world’s more difficult to see species of rallids - the elusive and inconspicuous Striped Crake. We still know so little about this species and its movements are rather poorly known. They tend to turn up in an area for a few months, breed, and then move on with years at a time between sightings. Many members of the Rallidae family are extreme skulkers and are highly sought after by birders worldwide and the Striped Crake is right at the top of the pyramid. This species is typically very difficult to see in its seasonal wet, grassy habitat and is often challenging to observe even when explicitly looking for them. 

The best time to try and see this species is during the breeding season when they call for extended periods, often through the night. Once a location is known it is sometimes possible to flush them from their inundated grassy haunts or else get lucky with a sighting in the early morning, as they cling to grass tufts in an attempt to warm up in the first sun rays of the day. Clearly Adam’s image of this species defies its difficulty but sometimes you do just get lucky….  

The Striped Crake occurs through southern, eastern, western and central Africa but no doubt the difficulty accessing habitat, especially on poor roads during the wet season, has added to the overall paucity of records. We have already touched on how this species is prone to wondering and erratic breeding in response to rainfall but Striped Crake records from north Africa, the Middle East and Europe only cement just how mobile this species can be and how prone to vagrancy it is. 

During the late summer months parts of southern Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia in particular) hold an enviable variety of crakes and other wetland associated species such as gallinules, moorhens, painted snipes and the legendary flufftails. Many of these species are notoriously secretive and some occupy very niche habitats as well. Given the volume of fabulous rallidae (rallids) and sarothruridae (flufftails) possible we have developed a very special and unique tour known as the Rallid Quest where we set out to target a variety of these seldom-seen specials. 

Our ‘Rallid Quest’ tour has been specifically timed for when conditions are at their best for most of the regions ‘rallids’. Time is spent exploring Zimbabwe and Zambia for a magnificent variety of species while we also have an extension through Zambia for its two endemics – Chaplin’s Barbet and Black-cheeked Lovebird plus a variety of other specials in the regions unique miombo woodlands.

While the major focus will on spending time and energy looking for rails and flufftails we will certainly also be keeping an eye out for those special species restricted to the miombo woodland, mushitu (riverine) forest and dambos (seasonal wetlands) such as Anchieta’s Barbet, Bar-winged Weaver, Anchieta’ Sunbird, Bocage’s Akalat, Ross’s Turaco, African Spotted Creeper, Blue Quail, Black-rumped Buttonquail, and Locust Finch to mention just a few.

Join us in Zimbabwe and Zambia this summer for an action packed tour featuring a variety of species that few birders ever get to see.