Aramides saracura
The Slaty-breasted Wood Rail, Aramides saracura, is a striking, medium-sized member of the Rallidae family, measuring 31-36 cm in length and weighing between 300-400 grams. Its most distinctive features include a slate-grey head and breast that sharply contrasts with an olive-brown back and bright reddish flanks and undertail coverts. A prominent crimson-red bill tipped with yellow, coupled with vivid red legs, completes its charismatic appearance, making it unmistakable among its genus in it...
This species primarily inhabits humid lowland and montane forests, often near wetlands, swamps, or along streams, and can also be found in secondary growth, ranging from sea level up to 2,000 meters in elevation.
Its diet is omnivorous, consisting primarily of invertebrates like insects and snails, small vertebrates, as well as various seeds, fruits, and other plant matter, foraging mainly by gleaning and probing on the forest floor.
Slaty-breasted Wood Rails are typically diurnal, though they are most active during the crepuscular hours of dawn and dusk, often roosting within dense undergrowth. They are highly terrestrial, foraging by walking deliberately on the forest floor, meticulously probing leaf litter and turning over...
The Slaty-breasted Wood Rail is a resident species found exclusively in southeastern South America. Its primary distribution encompasses southeastern Brazil, extending south through eastern Paraguay, and into northeastern Argentina. Within Brazil, it is found from southern Bahia, Espírito Santo, ...
Least Concern
- The species' common name, 'Saracura,' is an onomatopoeia derived directly from its loud, distinctive call, mimicking the sound it makes. - Despite being a rail, the Slaty-breasted Wood Rail is remarkably terrestrial, spending most of its time on the forest floor rather than in open water. - The...