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Grey-cowled Wood Rail | Aramides cajaneus
Cayennebosral | Rascón cuello gris
The Grey-cowled Wood Rail is a large, colourful rail of swamp forest and mangrove, with a grey head and neck, a rufous breast and a black rear. In the Caribbean it occurs only in Trinidad, where it often forages openly at the edge of forest and water. It is detected mainly at dusk by the loud cackling duets of pairs. Until 2015 it was treated as one species with the Russet-naped Wood Rail of Mexico and Central America.
Voice
A loud, repeated cackling, often in duet, such as pop-tiyi pop-tiyi co-co-co-co-co, heard mainly at dawn and dusk. In alarm a harsh, loud cackle or shrieking clucking.
Recording: Juan Freile — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · shortened to the first 60 s, mono · xeno-canto
Identification
33–40 cm, a sturdy rail on long legs, with a long, slightly flattened bill. Head and neck are grey, with a brownish hindcrown. Mantle and wings are olive-green to dark brown; breast and flanks are bright rufous. Belly, rump and the short tail are black. The bill is greenish-yellow, the eye red and the legs coral-red. The sexes are alike; juveniles are duller and darker. It walks with the tail cocked and seldom flies.
Confusion species
No other rail in Trinidad has this combination of grey neck, rufous breast and black belly. Mangrove Rail Rallus longirostris is smaller, grey-brown with black-and-white barred flanks, and has a longer, slimmer bill. Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus is dark slate-grey with a red frontal shield and swims a lot.
Habitat
Swamp forest, mangrove, the banks of streams and rivers in lowland forest and wet forest edges; locally also parks and grounds with ponds close to forest. It feeds on the ground, mainly at dusk and at night, on invertebrates, molluscs, crabs, seeds and fruit. Pairs stay together all year and defend a territory. The nest is a cup of twigs and leaves in a shrub or low tree.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation types of the Caribbean.
Range and movements
Within the region only in Trinidad, where the species is widespread in swamp forest, mangrove and along lowland streams. Beyond the region from Costa Rica and Panama through much of South America east of the Andes to northern Argentina and Uruguay.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
In Trinidad the species can be seen where birds are used to people, such as the Pointe-à-Pierre Wildfowl Trust, where they walk over open ground beside the ponds. In the mangroves of the Caroni Swamp and along forest streams it is shyer and mainly heard at dusk. A quiet wait at the water's edge works better than walking around.
Conservation status
Not threatened. In Trinidad locally fairly common, but dependent on swamp forest and mangrove, which are declining through clearance, building and drainage. Hunting occurs locally.
Scientific name
Aramides cajaneus | (Müller, 1776) (GBIF: Aramides cajanea)
Müller described the species in 1776 as Fulica Cajanea; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Aramides was introduced in 1845 by Pucheran. Aramides is Aramus (Limpkin) with Greek -oidēs 'resembling': 'Limpkin-like'. cajaneus refers to Cayenne in French Guiana, where the described specimen came from. The specimen the first description was based on came from Cayenne, French Guiana.