Russet-naped Wood-Rail

Russet-naped Wood-Rails are found from northeastern Mexico south to northeastern Costa Rica. They can be hard to see, since they inhabit swampy forest, river, and swamp edges. This habitat well-describes the lakeshore near the Hotel de Campo on 11 and 12 July 2017. Often they remain hidden in the vegetation Only occasionally, do they venture out into the open. I took these photos with difficulty.

Looking these birds’ bills, you can see why rails are classified in the same order as cranes. They hunt for invertebrates, small vertebrates, and vegetative matter. Russet-naped Wood-Rails used to be named Gray-necked Wood-Rails. But the northern wood-rails are quite different—in both voice and plumage—from those found from southwestern Costa Rica to Argentina. Those southern birds are now called Gray-cowled Wood-Rails.