Bird Guide

Spotted Rail vs Uniform Crake

Spotted Rail (Pardirallus maculatus)

Spotted Rail

Pardirallus maculatus

Medium171 gWetland

The spotted rail is 25 to 28 cm (9.8 to 11.0 in) long and weighs 130 to 220 g (4.6 to 7.8 oz); females are slightly smaller than males. The sexes are alike. They have a long greenish bill (beak) with a red spot at the base of the mandible and pinkish legs. "Immatures are much drabber (some may lack barring), but older immatures have pattern of the adult." The juvenile has a more yellowish bill, a brown iris, generally drabber, especially their legs and feet and a variable plumage of 3 morphs. Voice: The spotted rail makes a "oud repeated, rasping, groaning screech, usually preceded by grunt or pop, 'g'reech' or 'pum-kreep'" resembling a "decelerating-accelerating : 'pJEW-pJEW pJEEEW pJEEEW-pJEW'" when it is agitated, or making an aggressive or territorial call. "Calls include a deep thumping sound, almost low enough where one feels it more than hears it.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Spotted Rail
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call, calls · Manabí: La Segua marsh (Chone lakes), Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Reserva Natural Urbana El Corredor · CC BY 4.0
Uniform Crake (Amaurolimnas concolor)

Uniform Crake

Amaurolimnas concolor

Medium133 gForest

The uniform crake is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long and weighs about 95 to 130 g (3.4 to 4.6 oz). The sexes are alike. They have a medium length yellowish green bill, a red eye, and pinkish red legs and feet. A. c. guatemalensis is the larger of the two living subspecies; it has olivaceous brown upperparts and brown underparts. A. c. castaneus is also olivaceous brown above, but has rufous brown underparts. Voice: The uniform crake's song is a "series of 6–20 upslurred 'tooee' whistles". Pairs maintain contact with "clear, but not loud, whistled 'tooo' notes". The species' alarm call is "a sharp, nasal 'kek'".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: lwolfartist · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Spotted Rail and Uniform Crake.