The rufous-necked wood rail (''Aramides axillaris'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
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 subfamily Rallinae of the rail, crake, and coot 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 ...
.
[HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022] It is found in
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 ...
,
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, seven mainland
South American
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
countries, and
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
.
[Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2022. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.aou.org/taxa][Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved July 24, 2022]
Taxonomy and systematics
The rufous-necked wood rail is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
.
[
]
Description
The rufous-necked wood rail is long and weighs about . The sexes are alike. They have long, stout, yellow-green bills and red legs and feet. Adults' head, neck, and breast are rufous brown. Their nape and upper back are gray and the rest of the back olive brown to greenish olive. Their wings are greenish olive and chestnut. Their rump, tail, flanks, and undertail coverts
A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts
The ear coverts are s ...
are black. Their throat is white and their belly grayish brown. Juveniles are much duller overall. Their upperparts are like the adults' but duller. Their face, chin, and upper neck are buffy brown to dirty white with a cinnamon wash. Their lower flanks and undertail coverts are deep brownish olive and the rest of their underparts buffy brown with an ochre cinnamon wash.[Boyer, E. (2020). Rufous-necked Wood-Rail (''Aramides axillaris''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rnwrai1.01 retrieved October 14, 2022]
Distribution and habitat
The rufous-necked wood rail is found in Mexico on the Pacific coast and the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...
and generally (though discontinuously) along both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Central America. In South America it is found along the Pacific coast discontinuously from Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
through Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
to northern Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, along the Caribbean coast from Colombia through Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and the Guianas
The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories:
* French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France
* ...
, and on Trinidad.[ In addition, a ]vagrant
Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
spent much of July 2013 at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge ( ) is located in southern New Mexico. It was founded in 1939 and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is a favorite spot to watch the migration of the sandhill cranes in th ...
in New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. Many bird enthusiasts and watchers traveled to the state to view it.["Tropic bird goes astray, sparks NM birding frenzy." Associated Press. 23 July 2013. https://news.yahoo.com/tropic-bird-goes-astray-sparks-nm-birding-frenzy-073710442.html]
The rufous-necked wood rail was long thought to be primarily a coastal species, and in parts of its range is known only from mangrove forest
Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fr ...
. However, a growing number of inland sightings in deciduous, humid, and montane forest
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
as high as are suggestive of elevational migration, with mangroves being only winter habitat.[
]
Behavior
Movement
The rufous-necked wood rail has generally been considered a year-round resident throughout its range. However, there is strong evidence of seasonal elevational movements at least in Central America and perhaps western South America.[
]
Feeding
The rufous-necked wood rail generally forages at morning and evening twilight. Though it is generally a secretive bird, when foraging it will often move several meters from cover onto open mudflats and stream banks. Its primary prey is crabs and it also takes other aquatic invertebrates.[
]
Breeding
The rufous-necked wood rail's breeding biology is not well known. Its breeding season appears to vary geographically. Breeding records are few, and some of them are from inland forests. Two nests were described by one author as an open bowl made of twigs and lined with weed stems and both dead and green leaves. They were placed in a small tree and on a stump and both contained five eggs.[
]
Vocalization
The rufous-necked wood rail's song has been described as "loud, irregularly paced ''kip'' and ''kow'' notes, e.g., ''kip-kow-kip, kow-kip-kow, kip-kowkip-kow, kow, kow, kow-kip''". Pairs sing in duet "a strident series of musical notes...''CHI burr... CHI burr... CHI burr....''". They mostly sing at dusk and dawn but also at night. The species also makes "a cluck and ''kik'' in alarm".[
]
Status
The IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
has assessed the rufous-necked wood rail as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range and an estimated population of at least 50,000 mature individuals, though the latter is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[ Mexico and Costa Rica consider it to be endangered in those countries. "Mangroves are imperiled by development, pollution, mariculture, and changes in sea level and salinity, all of which are anthropogenically driven."][
]
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1262002
rufous-necked wood rail
Birds of Mexico
Birds of Central America
Birds of Colombia
Birds of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena
Birds of the Guianas
rufous-necked wood rail
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot