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Yellow-breasted Crake Porzana flaviventer Polluela Pechiamarilla,
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Photo: L. Miranda Castro
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Yellow-breasted Crake Porzana flaviventer Polluela Pechiamarilla,
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Photo: L. Miranda Castro
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IDENTIFICATION: A tiny, sparrow-sized marsh bird, with a brown back, yellow breast with black bars on the sides. Length: 12.4-14 cm.; weight: 20-28 g. VOICE: A variety of squeaky call notes. Audio (M. Oberle). HABITAT: Freshwater marshes, pond edges, flooded fields, and ditches with dense vegetation. HABITS: The Yellow-breasted Crake tunnels like a mouse through marsh vegetation. Occasionally at dawn or dusk, one will run across a dike, or fly from the edge of a pond or marsh, with its legs dangling below it. However, it is more often heard than seen. It feeds on insects, seeds and crustaceans plucked from water or vegetation. The female lays 3-5 eggs in a nest built in floating vegetation or reeds. STATUS AND CONSERVATION: An uncommon, permanent resident in marshes in Puerto Rico, e.g., Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge, 24 March 2001. The drainage of wetlands has decreased habitat for this species. RANGE: Breeds in the Greater Antilles, and from southern Mexico south to Colombia, eastern Brazil, and northern Argentina. Reported recently from the Humacao and Caño Tiburones Nature Reserves, Boquerón Wildlife Refuge and Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge, but is difficult to see. TAXONOMY: GRUIFORMES; RALLIDAE. Called "Gallito Amarillo" in some texts. |
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Photo: L. Miranda Castro
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Photo: L. Miranda Castro
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Photo: L. Miranda Castro
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Photo: L. Miranda Castro
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Photo: H. López Torres
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Photo: D. Paulson*
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References del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1996. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 3. Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR. Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton. Taylor, B. Rails. 1998. Rails: a guide to the rails, crakes, gallinules, and coots of the world, Yale University and Pica Press. Yellow-breasted Crake, Spanish text Next related species in taxonomic order Previous related species in taxonomic order |