The ruddy crake (''Laterallus ruber'') is a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the rail family,

Rallidae The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...

. Other names the Ruddy Crake is known by are “Red Rail”, “Rudy Rail” and “Red Crake”.

Description

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 Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is black, the

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

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.

Habitat and Distribution

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 Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

south to north-west

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. It is found in freshwater habitats such as marshes,

reedbed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

s, damp fields and ditches. 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 of 2007 a ruddy crake was viewed near the trail by the La Selva Biological Research Station, indicating a widespread range.

Behavior

Diet

The ruddy crake eats invertebrates and plants near the surface of water, including decaying plants, water snails, water beetles, mosquito larvae, and mayflies in the wetland habitat.

Reproduction

In crake reproduction, they lay 6-12 eggs in a nest near the water made from plants. The male and female take turns sitting on the eggs for three weeks, and the eggs will hatch over a week-long period. The male will care for the chicks while the female sits on the younger eggs. Once all eggs hatch, both parents feed and guard the chicks. Often, the chicks will be split up between the two parents.

Conservation

Population

Deforestation and habitat degradation has caused decreases in the population of ruddy crakes, but land preservation by governments and other conservation groups have benefited the species. The Partners in Flight organization estimated the population of the Ruddy Crakes to be made up of less than 50,000 individuals. The overall population trend, however, is unable to be determined, as the volume of threats and level of threats that the species faces is uncertain.BirdLife International (2021) Species factsheet:
Laterallus ruber
'. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 15/03/2021.

Conservation Status

The conservation status of the Ruddy Crake is currently at the level of “Least Concern”.

Taxonomy

The old Latin name for the ruddy crake was “''Corethrura rubra''”.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1271852

ruddy crake The ruddy crake (''Laterallus ruber'') is a bird in the rail family, Rallidae. Other names the Ruddy Crake is known by are “Red Rail”, “Rudy Rail” and “Red Crake”. Description The ruddy crake can be identified by its ruddy plumage t ...

Birds of Mexico Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Birds of Belize Birds of Guatemala Birds of El Salvador Birds of Honduras