From Opus

Includes Ecuadorian Rail

Rallus limicola

Photo by mcdomik
Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin, USA, July 2004

[edit] Identification

• Rufous breast
• Long, slightly decurved bill
• Red bill and legs
• Grey face
• Black and white barring on flanks
• Brown streaking on back

Juvenile
Photo by jvhigbee
Soap Lake, Washington, US, September 2003

[edit] Similar Species

Similar to King Rail, but king rail is much larger, with light brownish bill and legs, less grey in face.

[edit] Distribution

Nova Scotia to California and North Carolina; southwestern Colombia to western Peru; southern Chile and Argentina.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies¹

• R. l. limicola - Southern Canada and US; winters to Baja and Guatemala
• R. l. friedmanni - South-eastern Mexico (Puebla, México, Veracruz and Chiapas)
• R. l. aequatorialis - "Ecuadorian Rail": Locally in mountains of south-western Colombia, Ecuador and Peru

[edit] Habitat

Shallow freshwater marshes with emergent vegetation.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

The diet includes insects and aquatic animals.

[edit] Breeding

The nest is a platform composed of cattails and other plants in a dry area in the marsh. The clutch consists of 5 to 13 eggs. Both adults care for the young.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Wikipedia

• List of references

[edit] External Links