Russet-naped Wood-rail, Aramides albiventris

Russet-naped Wood-rail, Aramides albiventris. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California, taken in the coastal region of Guatemala, March 2020.

The Russet-naped Wood-rail, Aramides albiventris, is a member of the Rallidae Family of Rails, Gallinules and Coots. They are medium in stature. In Mexico they are found in the coastal regions within the Atlantic Slope from Veracruz to Belize and within the Pacific Slope in the States of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas at elevations up to 2,000 m (6,560 feet). From a conservation perspective the Russet-naped Wood-rail is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found in most subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests, mangrove forests, and swamps. They consume invertebrates, small vertebrates and seasonal berries, palm fruits and seeds.