noun
ruddy-breasted crake
A small waterbird (Porzana fusca) found in wetlands across East and Southeast Asia. In Japanese, the name is almost always written in katakana as ヒクイナ.
水田でヒクイナを見かけた。
I spotted a ruddy-breasted crake in the rice paddy.
The name ヒクイナ is a compound of 緋 (hi, 'scarlet') and 水鶏 (kuina, 'water rail'), referring to the bird's reddish plumage and its rail family classification. The kanji 秧 means 'rice seedling', reflecting its habitat.