Ruddy Crake
Laterallus ruber
A small, elusive bird of freshwater marshes, damp fields, and roadside ditches; heard much more often than seen. Walks quietly and runs quickly, like all rails. Can be confiding if you wait patiently and quietly. Plumage distinctive, overall rich ruddy with slate gray head. Adult has ruby-red eyes, which are duller on immatures.
Identification
The ruddy crake can be identified by its ruddy plumage that can vary in shade and gray head with dark brown wings and tail. It is mostly bright chestnut in colour with a paler chin and belly, blackish crown and dark grey ear-coverts. Ruddy crakes are about the size of a sparrow. It is a small crake, 14–16.5 cm in length. Immature ruddy crakes tend to show discoloration on their midline or nape, such as a pale midline or chestnut colored nape. The bill is black, the iris is red and the legs and feet are olive-green. This distinct characteristic of yellow green legs, differentiating it from other small birds. The ruddy crake has a short black conical bill, and it has wide spread feet specifically adapted for wet habitats. Female ruddy crakes are more drab than males, and the males have rusty red plumage on the breast.
Taxonomy
The old Latin name for the ruddy crake was "Corethrura rubra".
- Scientific name
- Laterallus ruber
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1860)
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Laterallus
Range and habitat
The ruddy crake, similar to others in the Rallidae family, prefers wet pastures and marshes, especially the tall grasses. The ruddy crake populates the lowlands of the Caribbean, including areas of the Veracruz east, Yucatan Peninsula, and Honduras. The bird occurs from Mexico south to north-west Costa Rica. It is found in freshwater habitats such as marshes, reedbeds, damp fields and ditches.<p>In the 1960s and 1970s, the ruddy crake was regarded as the most abundant crake in its range in Mexico, while it is considered rare in Costa Rica. Based on range maps, the breeding distribution is 655,600 kilometers squared. The ruddy crake was listed as possibly extinct by the Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica because there were no sightings for two decades. However, in May 2007 a ruddy crake was viewed near the trail by the La Selva Biological Research Station, indicating a widespread range.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Short-bearded Honeyeater
Melionyx nouhuysi
A long, slender honeyeater of subalpine forest and shrubland in western New Guinea. All sooty gray-black plumage with a long tail and a fairly long, curved bill, 2 white tufts emanating from the base of the bill, and a yellow-orange wattle at the back of the eye. Sometimes some white scaling on the belly. Often seen perching on top of bushes. Similar to Sooty Melidectes, but Short-bearded Melidectes is larger and has a white beard. Gives a long, dry chatter.
Scrub Blackbird
Dives warczewiczi
A conspicuous blackbird of open country in western Ecuador, western Peru, and far southwestern Colombia. Most common at lower elevations, but also reaches some higher Andean valleys. Plumage is all black, and in bright light it may show a slight bluish sheen. Very similar to male Shiny Cowbird but larger, with a longer bill and usually less iridescent feathers. Song is a series of loud whistles, usually given from an exposed perch; may hold head vertically and bob up and down while singing.
Streak-capped Spinetail
Cranioleuca hellmayri
Mostly brown arboreal spinetail with a black-streaked rufous crown and rufous wings and tail. Has a narrow white eyebrow, diffuse pale streaks on face, and slightly downcurved bill. Forages actively by hitching up branches and tree trunks, checking leaves and bromeliads. Often found with mixed-species flocks in humid forests, tall secondary forests, and forest borders. Quite vocal, the song an accelerating series of short, high notes; calls are a squeaky “CHIP-up.” Similar to Crested Spinetail but in Streak-capped note the contrasting rufous crown and white eyebrow. Endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Sierra de Perija in Colombia and Venezuela.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.