| Rufous-sided crake | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Rallidae |
| Genus: | Laterallus |
| Species: | L. melanophaius |
| Binomial name | |
| Laterallus melanophaius (Vieillot, 1819) | |
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The rufous-sided crake (Laterallus melanophaius) is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. [2] [3] It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile. [4]
The rufous-sided crake has two subspecies, the nominate L. m. melanophaius and L. m. oenops. [2] What is now the white-throated crake (L. albigularis) was for a time treated as a third subspecies. [5]
The rufous-sided crake is 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in) long and weighs about 50 to 60 g (1.8 to 2.1 oz). The sexes are alike. Both subspecies' bills have a gray maxilla with a pea green cutting edge and a pale pea green mandible with a white tip. Their legs and feet are light gray brown to olive brown. The nominate subspecies has dark olive brown upperparts with a gray tinge around the eye. The face and sides of the breast are rufous to cinnamon rufous. The throat and center of the breast are white, the flanks and belly barred white and blackish brown, and the undertail coverts are dark cinnamon rufous. Subspecies L. m. oenops is similar to the nominate, but has paler upperparts and is rufous on the forecrown and around the eye. [6]
The nominate subspecies of rufous-sided crake has much the larger range of the two. It is found from coastal Venezuela east through the Guianas and separately from central and eastern Brazil south through eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay into northern Argentina. Subspecies L. m. oenops is found from southern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador into eastern Peru and east into western Brazil. The species primarily inhabits freshwater marshes and similar landscapes such as flooded pastures and the edges of ponds and oxbow lakes . [2] [6]
The rufous-sided crake is not known to migrate. [6]
The rufous-sided crake usually forages in dense grassy vegetation but also in the open close to cover. It forages in mud and vegetation for its primary diet of small arthropods; seeds and leaves are also eaten. [6]
Only fragments are known about the rufous-sided crake's breeding biology. Its nesting season(s) are not known for most of its range but include September and October in Argentina. Its nest is a globe of leaves lined with leaf shreds, dry grass, and feathers. It is placed on or just above the ground and has a side entrance. The incubation period is about 20 days. [6]
The rufous-sided crake's song is "a rubbery musical trill" much like those of other Laterallus crakes. Its calls include ""high-pitched tinkling calls[,] [a] short treeeeeng[, and] a harsh, descending djreer." [6]
The IUCN has assessed the rufous-sided crake as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range but its population size and trend are not known. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It is thought uncommon to locally common in Ecuador and fairly common in Peru. "Human activity has little short-term direct effect on Rufous-sided Crake, other than the local effects of habitat destruction." [6]
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The rufous-breasted sabrewing is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
The greenish puffleg is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru.
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The russet-crowned crake is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, the Guianas, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.
The white-throated crake is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.
The grey-breasted crake is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The rusty-flanked crake is a Vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is endemic to Venezuela.
The ash-throated crake is a species of bird in the subfamily Rallinae of the rail, crake, and coot family Rallidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile.
The yellow-breasted crake is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found on several Caribbean islands and in most of Central America and South America.
The pale-crested woodpecker a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.
The ringed woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The lettered aracari or lettered araçari is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The red-stained woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The copper-tailed hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is native to the tepuis of Venezuela and nearby areas of Brazil and Guyana ; it is a vagrant in French Guiana.
