Rufous-sided Crake
Laterallus melanophaius (Vieillot, 1819)
Rallidae — Rails, Crakes & Coots
Rufous-sided Crake, Laterallus melanophaius, is a rail of South America, where it breeds widely across the continent. It belongs to the family Rallidae and was described by Vieillot in 1819. This bird is tied to freshwater marshes, flooded pastures, and the margins of ponds and oxbow lakes. The nominate form ranges from coastal Venezuela through the Guianas and also from central and eastern Brazil south to northern Argentina, while L. m. oenops occurs from southern Colombia through eastern Ecuador into eastern Peru and western Brazil. It is not known to migrate.
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae — Rails, Crakes & Coots
- Breeding range
- South America: widespread
