Species description: Description: A very small (13 cm) spotted grouse. Upper body brown with black longitudinal stripes and small white transverse spots; chin, throat and belly white; breast yellowish brown; dark brown and white broad transverse spots on both flanks and under tail. Young birds darker. Tail short and upturned. In flight, the white secondary flight feathers are distinct from the black primary flight feathers. Iris - brown; beak - dull yellow; feet - yellow. Calls: Throaty, screechy, and cackling calls; calls sound like the tapping of stones. Range: Breeds in northeast Asia; migrates south to winter in southern Japan and southern China. Distribution: Globally vulnerable (Collar et al., 1994). Rarely breeds in northeastern Inner Mongolia in areas with reed vegetation. Wintering in wet grasslands of Poyang Lake in Jiangxi and rice fields in Fujian and Guangdong; migrates through eastern China. Habits: very secretive. Note: Some authors place it in the genus Porzana.