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Laterallus ruberruddy crake

By David Allen

Ge­o­graphic Range

Lat­er­al­lus ruber is found in the north­ern parts of South Amer­ica and into the south­ern areas of North Amer­ica. The high­est den­si­ties found of the ruddy crake are in Co­lum­bia and Cen­tral Amer­ica. This species fa­vors the wet­lands and wet forests through­out these areas.

(Pe­ter­son 1980)

Habi­tat

Wet forests and swamps sup­port Lat­er­al­lus ruber.

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Lat­er­al­lus ruber su­per­fi­cially re­sem­bles other rails. This species has the char­ac­ter­is­tic short con­i­cal bill. The legs are long with wide spread­ing feet to move around in wet areas. The body shape re­sem­bles a water drop when the neck is ex­tended. The feath­ers on the head are dull black. The ru­fous wings and the back have a red­dish brown col­or­ing min­gled with brown and black. The male has a rusty red col­ored breast sim­i­lar to the color of a ruddy duck. The fe­male is only slightly more drab than the male. The tail is very short and stubby. A rusty col­ored stripe en­velopes the dark eyes of the crake.

(Miller and Miller 1987)

Re­pro­duc­tion

In­for­ma­tion on re­pro­duc­tion is un­avail­able on Lat­er­al­lus ruber. This in­for­ma­tion is gen­eral to crakes.

Crakes gen­er­ally lay 6-12 eggs in a nest made among tall aquatic plants at the wa­ters edge. Both male and fe­male brood them in turn for up to 3 weeks. As in­cu­ba­tion starts be­fore all the eggs are laid, the chicks emerge at in­ter­vals over a pe­riod of sev­eral days. They can leave the nest shortly after hatch­ing. After the eggs have hatched, the male cares for them while his mate in­cu­bates the younger eggs. After all the eggs have hatched, both par­ents guard the chicks, feed­ing them until they are a week old. Some­times the chicks split into two par­ties, each under the charge of one par­ent.

Be­hav­ior

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Food Habits

Lat­er­al­lus ruber feed on the in­ver­te­brates and plants they can find liv­ing at the sur­face or just be­neath the sur­face of the water. This species will also feed from the mud and de­cay­ing plants in wet­lands and in pools formed in large tree crevices. They mainly prey on water snails and in­sects such as water bee­tles, mayflies and mos­qui­toes, as well as their lar­vae. Water plants and grass may also be eaten but this is un­con­firmed.

(Miller and Miller 1987)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

The ruddy crake has no major eco­nomic value. Money from bird watch­ers and eco­tourists can be ac­counted for but this species is not of major in­ter­est since other trop­i­cal birds are of greater in­ter­est.

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

The largest con­cern for this species is the one com­mon to most trop­i­cal birds. De­for­esta­tion and habi­tat de­struc­tion have low­ered the pop­u­la­tions of the ruddy crake. These birds have ben­e­fited from the parks and land pre­served by gov­ern­ments and con­cerned groups.

Con­trib­u­tors

David Allen (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Terry Root (ed­i­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

World Map

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

tactile

uses touch to communicate

visual

uses sight to communicate

Ref­er­ences

B. Miller, C. 1987. Con­ser­va­tion of a Crit­i­cal Marsh and Low­land habi­tat, Mus­sel Creek drainage sys­tem, Be­lize, C.A.. Re­port to NYZS/Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion So­ci­ety..

McRae, E., 1994. The Birds of Be­lize's Coastal Zone: Species, Dis­tri­b­u­tion, Cur­rent sta­tus, Threats to their well-be­ing, and Po­ten­tial Mea­sures to Re­duce their Im­pact.. Re­port to NPAMP..

Pe­ter­son, Roger Tory, 1980. Pe­ter­son Field Guides: A field guide to the birds of Texas. Boston: Houghton Mif­flin Com­pany.

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Classification

Classification

  • Kingdom Animalia animals
  • Phylum Chordata chordates
  • Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
  • Class Aves birds
  • Order Gruiformes coots, cranes, and rails
  • Family Rallidae coots, rails, and relatives
  • Genus Laterallus black rails
  • Species Laterallus ruber ruddy crake