Yellow-breasted crake

Appearance

The yellow-breasted crake is 12.5 to 14 cm long. Males weigh 22 to 29 g and females 20 to 28 g. The sexes are alike. Their generally buffy face has a dark line through the eye and a pale buff-white supercilium, a pattern unique among New World members of Rallidae. Adults of the nominate subspecies "L. f. flaviventer" have brown upperparts and a white throat, buffy yellow breast, and black and white banded flanks and belly. The other subspecies differ from the nominate in size and the intensity of their colors. The nominate and "L. f. gossii" are the largest, and the nominate has the darkest neck and breast. "L. f. bangsi"'s upperparts are the darkest and "L. f. hendersoni"'s are the palest.

Distribution

The five subspecies of yellow-breasted crake are found thus:

⤷  "L. f. gossii", Cuba and Jamaica
⤷  "L. f. hendersoni", Hispaniola and Puerto Rico
⤷  "L. f. woodi", from central Mexico south to northwestern Costa Rica
⤷  "L. f. bangsi", northern Colombia
⤷  "L. f. flaviventer", Panama east through northern and central Colombia and Venezuela to the Guianas and south through parts of Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay into northeastern Argentina; also Trinidad and Tobago

Undocumented sight records in Ecuador lead the South American Classification Committee of the AOS to call the species hypothetical in that country. The SACC also notes it as a vagrant rather than inhabitant in Uruguay.

The yellow-breasted crake is primarily a bird of freshwater systems, but is also rarely found at saltwater. It inhabits marshes, grassy edges of ponds and lakes, rice fields, and flooded grassy fields. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 2,500 m.

Status

The IUCN has assessed the yellow-breasted crake as being of Least Concern. Its estimated population of 7000 mature individuals has an unknown trend. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered locally common in much of its range and is "undoubtedly more widespread than is known."

Habitat

The five subspecies of yellow-breasted crake are found thus:

⤷  "L. f. gossii", Cuba and Jamaica
⤷  "L. f. hendersoni", Hispaniola and Puerto Rico
⤷  "L. f. woodi", from central Mexico south to northwestern Costa Rica
⤷  "L. f. bangsi", northern Colombia
⤷  "L. f. flaviventer", Panama east through northern and central Colombia and Venezuela to the Guianas and south through parts of Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay into northeastern Argentina; also Trinidad and Tobago

Undocumented sight records in Ecuador lead the South American Classification Committee of the AOS to call the species hypothetical in that country. The SACC also notes it as a vagrant rather than inhabitant in Uruguay.

The yellow-breasted crake is primarily a bird of freshwater systems, but is also rarely found at saltwater. It inhabits marshes, grassy edges of ponds and lakes, rice fields, and flooded grassy fields. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 2,500 m.

Reproduction

The yellow-breasted crake's breeding season are not well defined but appear to vary geographically. It builds a loose nest among reeds or marsh grass. An average clutch is about four eggs. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.

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Songs and calls

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Food

The yellow-breasted crake forages among emergent plants, sometimes running across them or climbing among them. It leaves cover during dawn and dusk to feed at the water's edge. Its diet includes small gastropods, insects, and seeds.