Ruddy Crake

Overview

The ruddy crake (Laterallus ruber), also known as the red rail or ruddy rail, is a small bird in the rail family. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Ruddy plumage varying in shade, mostly bright chestnut with a paler chin and belly, and a gray head with dark brown wings and tail.
• Approximately the size of a sparrow, measuring 14–16.5 cm in length.
• Short black conical bill, red iris, and distinctive olive-green or yellow-green legs and feet adapted for wet habitats.
• Females are more drab than males, which possess rusty red plumage on the breast.

Habitat

This species prefers wet pastures, marshes, reedbeds, damp fields, and ditches, particularly those with tall grasses. Its range covers the lowlands of the Caribbean, extending from Mexico south to north-west Costa Rica, including the Yucatan Peninsula and Honduras.

Diet

The ruddy crake forages for invertebrates and plants near the surface of water. Its diet includes decaying plants, water snails, water beetles, mosquito larvae, and mayflies found within wetland habitats.

Did you know?

In 2007, a ruddy crake was observed near the La Selva Biological Research Station after being listed as possibly extinct by the Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica due to a lack of sightings for two decades.