Mustelirallus colombianus

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Gruiformes

Familia: Rallidae
Genus: Mustelirallus
Species: Mustelirallus colombianus
Subspecies: M. c. colombianus – M. c. ripleyi
Name

Mustelirallus colombianus (Bangs, 1898)

Holotype: adult ♀, 22 May 1898
Type locality: Palomina (5000 ft), Santa Marta, Colombia.

Synonymy

Neocrex colombianus (protonym)
Neocrex colombiana
Porzana colombiana (Bangs, 1898)
Neocrex uniformis Hartert, 1901 Novit.Zool. 8 p. 369 BHL

References
Primary references

Bangs, O. 1898. On some Birds from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 12: 171–182 BHL.Reference page. p. 171

Additional references

García-R, J.C., Gibb, G.B. & Trewick, S.A. 2014. Deep global evolutionary radiation in birds: Diversification and trait evolution in the cosmopolitan bird family Rallidae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 81: 96–108. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.09.008 ResearchGate Reference page.
Garcia-R, J.C., Lemmon, E.M., Lemmon, A.R. & French, N. 2020. Phylogenomic reconstruction sheds light on new relationships and timescale of rails (Aves: Rallidae) evolution. Diversity 12(2): 70. DOI: 10.3390/d12020070 Open access Reference page.
Kirchman, J.J., McInerney, N.R., Giarla, T.C., Olson, S.L., Slikas, E. & Fleischer, R.C. 2021. Phylogeny based on ultra-conserved elements clarifies the evolution of rails and allies (Ralloidea) and is the basis for a revised classification. Ornithology 138(4): ukab042. DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukab042 Open access Reference page.
Depino E.A., Pérez-Emán, J.L., Bonaccorso, E. & Areta, J.I. 2023. Evolutionary history of New World crakes (Aves: Rallidae) with emphasis on the tribe Laterallini. Zoologica Scripta 52(4): 394–412 DOI: 10.1111/zsc.12595 Paywall Reference page.

Links

IUCN: Neocrex colombiana (Data Deficient)

Vernacular names
English: Colombian Crake
español: Polluela colombiana

The Colombian crake (Mustelirallus colombianus) is a species of bird in the subfamily Rallinae of the rail, crake, and coot family Rallidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.[3][4]
Taxonomy and systematics

The Colombian crake's taxonomy has not been settled. The North American Classification Committee of AOS (NACC), the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) place it in genus Neocrex. However, in 2015 the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the Clements taxonomy moved it and the paint-billed crake (M. erythrops) to genus Mustelirallus.[5][3][4][2][6]

This article uses the IOC/NACC/HBW genus. The IOC, HBW, and Clements agree that the paint-billed crake has two subspecies, the nominate M. c. colombianus and M. c. ripleyi.[3][4][6]
Description

The Colombian crake is 18 to 20 cm (7.1 to 7.9 in) long. The sexes are alike. The nominate subspecies has a brown crown, nape, and upperparts including the tail. Its throat is white and its face, throat, and breast are gray. Its flanks, belly, and vent are cinnamon. M. c. ripleyi is similar but significantly darker.[7]
Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of Colombian crake is found from northern Colombia south into northwestern Ecuador. M. c. ripleyi is found from central Panama into northwestern Colombia's Chocó Department. There are few records of the species and the exact boundaries of the two subspecies' ranges are not known. The species inhabits wet to moist landscapes such as marshes, swamps, savanna, and the brushy edges of forest; not all of these have water bodies. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 2,100 m (6,900 ft).[7]
Behavior
Movement

The Colombian crake is considered to be sedentary.[7]
Feeding

Nothing is known about the Colombian crake's feeding habits or diet. They are assumed to be similar to those of its closest relative, the paint-billed crake. That species forages in soil, leaf litter, and standing water, and at dawn and dusk has been noted feeding in open areas next to dense vegetation. It is known to eat invertebrates including Diplopoda and Coleoptera and also seeds.[7][8]
Breeding

The Colombian crake's breeding season is not fully defined but appears to include at least December to February. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.[7]

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to Colombian crake on xeno-canto
Vocalization

As of late 2022 xeno-canto had only one recording of a Colombian crake vocalization and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library had none. That recording is of an immature bird being held by a researcher and is judged to be a distress call.[7]
Status

The IUCN originally assessed the Colombian crake in 1988 as Near Threatened, then in 1994 as Unknown, and since 2000 as Data Deficient. "It is very poorly known and its status, distribution and natural history demand urgent attention".[1] "Nevertheless, there appears to be ample suitable habitat for [the] nominate subspecies in W Colombia and Ecuador."[7]
References

BirdLife International (2016). "Colombian Crake Neocrex colombiana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22692740A93368001. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692740A93368001.en. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022
Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (August 2022). "Finfoots, flufftails, rails, trumpeters, cranes, Limpkin". IOC World Bird List. v 12.2. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022
Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2022. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.aou.org/taxa Archived 2020-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021
Taylor, B. and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Colombian Crake (Mustelirallus colombianus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.colcra2.01 retrieved October 13, 2022
Taylor, B., A. Bonan, P. F. D. Boesman, and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Paint-billed Crake (Mustelirallus erythrops), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.pabcra.01 retrieved October 12, 2022