RAILS, GALLINULES, AND COOTS   -   RALLIDAE

Bogota Rail Rallus semiplumbeus La Florida marsh, Bogota, Colombia. Probably endemic to the highlands of Colombia, but there is one old specimen from Peru that is quite a mystery.

Gray-necked Wood-Rail Aramides cajanea cajanea Transpantanal Highway, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Unlike most rails, this is one that you can expect to find out in the open on a fairly regular basis.

Blackish Rail Pardirallus nigricans nigricans Caraça reserve, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This is one member of a surprisingly bold pair living around the little duck pond at the monastery. They are easy to see most mornings.

Junin Rail Laterallus (jamaicensis) tuerosi Ondores, Junín department, Peru. This tiny rail, which some ornithologists consider to be a subspecies of the more widespread Black Rail (L. jamaicensis), has a miniscule range in Juncus reedbeds along the shores of Lake Junín in central Peru. Apparently it was known only from specimens until 2007, when a few people finally saw it with the help of a local farmer who used his dogs to corner the bird. This farmer now works with the national park service and a Peruvian NGO called ECOAN, and is no longer permitted to use dogs. However, he can still find it for birders by using local people to do the herding. Once the rail got the edge of the reedbed, it simply froze, and we were able to see it very closely.

Azure Gallinule Porphyrio flavirostris La Y, Apure state, Venezuela. A very shy bird, almost never coming out of dense grass. This is about a clear a view as you ever get.

Red-gartered Coot Fulica armillata Laguna Mar Chiquita, Córdoba province, Argentina.

Caribbean Coot Fulica caribaea Yacambú NP, Lara state, Venezuela. Probably an immature as it lacks any red on the frontal shield. It is sometimes considered conspecific with American Coot (F. americana).

American Coot Fulica americana columbiana Parque La Florida, Bogota, Colombia. A very localized bird in South America, now only found in central Colombia. It used to be in northern Ecuador, but  no longer occurs for unknown reasons.

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