The russet-naped wood rail or rufous-naped wood rail (''Aramides albiventris'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the subfamily Rallinae of the rail, crake, and coot family

Rallidae Rails (avian family Rallidae) are a large, Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of small- to medium-sized terrestrial and/or semi-amphibious birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity in its forms, and includes ...

. It is found from Mexico to Costa Rica.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

Taxonomy and systematics

The russet-naped wood rail was originally described as a species but in the early 20th century was reclassified as a subspecies of what was then called the gray-necked wood rail (''Aramides cajanea''). A 2015 paper by Marcondes and SilveiraMarcondes, R.S., and L.F. Silveira. 2015. A taxonomic review of ''Aramides cajaneus'' (Aves, Gruiformes, Rallidae) with notes on morphological variation in other species of the genus. ZooKeys 500:111–140 proposed reconsidering its position and in 2016 taxonomic systems restored it to species status and renamed the now-reduced ''A. cajanea'' the

grey-cowled wood rail The grey-cowled wood rail or grey-necked wood rail (''Aramides cajaneus'') is a species of bird in the family Rallidae, the rails. It lives primarily in the forests, mangroves, and swamps of Central and South America. Of the two subspecies, ''A. ...

.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/taxaClements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021 The

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

and

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

's ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...

'' follow Marcondes and Silveira in treating the russet-naped wood rail as

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 "unisp ...

. However, the

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology. It links basic and applied research and nurtures education and outreach activities. Specifically, the IOU organizes and funds global co ...

(IOC) assigns it these five subspecies: * ''A. a. mexicanus''

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, 1907 * ''A. a. vanrossemi'' Dickey, 1929 * ''A. a. albiventris'' Lawrence, 1867 * ''A. a. pacificus'' A. H. Miller & Griscom, 1921 * ''A. a. plumbeicollis'' Zeledon, 1888

Description

The russet-naped wood rail is long and weighs about . The sexes are alike and the subspecies are practically indistinguishable from each other. Adults have a thick dark yellow bill with a light green tip, a deep red eye, and red to pink legs and feet. Their forehead, crown, and hindneck are slate gray, and the back of the head has a chestnut patch. Their back is grayish olive and the tail black. Their chin and upper throat are white and the sides of the neck, lower throat, and upper breast are gray. The rest of their breast, the upper belly, and flanks are pale tawny cinnamon blending to a pale band separating them from the black lower belly, vent, and underatail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

. Juveniles have no white on their belly and instead of the adult's black underparts theirs are dark gray with tawny flecks.Greeney, H. F. (2021). Russet-naped Wood-Rail (''Aramides albiventris''), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.runwor1.02 retrieved October 14, 2022

Distribution and habitat

According to the IOC, the subspecies of russet-naped wood rail are found thus: * ''A. a. mexicanus'', eastern Mexico from southern

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

south onto the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

* ''A. a. vanrossemi'', the Pacific slope from

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

in southern Mexico to southern Guatemala and El Salvador * ''A. a. albiventris'', from the Yucatán Peninsula through Belize into northern Guatemala * ''A. a. pacificus'', the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

slope of Honduras and Nicaragua * ''A. a. plumbeicollis'', northeastern Costa Rica The russet-naped wood rail inhabits a wide variety of landscapes, both wet and dry. Marshes both fresh and salt, swamp forest, river and stream corridors, thorn forest, semi-evergreen forest, and mangrove forest are all represented as long as they provide dense cover.

Behavior

Movement

The russet-naped wood rail is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The russet-naped wood rail is usually secretive and mostly forages in dense vegetation. It does feed in the open at times, especially along stream banks, and has also been observed feeding in grassy areas near the forest. Its diet is not known in detail but it has been documented feeding on vegetable matter, snails, crabs, and a snake.

Breeding

The russet-naped wood rail's nesting season is not well known, but adults in breeding condition have been noted in January, April through June, and August. Its nest is a shallow bowl loosely constructed of sticks and plant fibers placed a few meters up in a bush, vines, or a tree. Often the nest is above water. The clutch size is three to seven eggs. The incubation period and time to independence are not known.

Vocalization

The russet-naped wood rail's song has been described as "a varied, rapid, crazed-sounding, rollicking, popping, and clucking series". Three transcriptions are "''coo-coocoo-coo' ki-ki-kik' cococo''", "''pop-tiyi pop-tiyi co-co-co-co-co''", and "''kook-kook-kook-kway!-kway!-kway!-kway!''". The species also makes "a sharp shriek, harsh cackle, or growl when disturbed" and "low grunting clucks, ''puk'', ''whut'', ''kuk'' etc.". It is most vocal at twilight and at night.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the russet-naped 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. "The mangrove and marsh habitats preferred by this species are undoubtedly some of the world’s most fragile and threatened habitat types".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q19886412 Aramides Birds of Costa Rica Birds of Honduras Birds of Mexico Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Birds described in 1868 Taxa named by George Newbold Lawrence