Rufous-sided Crake

Rufous-sided Crake

Laterallus melanophaius

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Belo Horizonte

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

20 Verified sightings at Belo Horizonte
1,419 In all 9 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Rufous-sided Crake

The rufous-sided crake (Laterallus melanophaius) is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile. What is now the white-throated crake (L. albigularis) was for a time treated as a third subspecies.

The rufous-sided crake is 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in) long and weighs about 50 to 60 g (1.8 to 2.1 oz). The sexes are alike. Both subspecies' bills have a gray maxilla with a pea green cutting edge and a pale pea green mandible with a white tip. Their legs and feet are light gray brown to olive brown. The nominate subspecies has dark olive brown upperparts with a gray tinge around the eye. The face and sides of the breast are rufous to cinnamon rufous. The throat and center of the breast are white, the flanks and belly barred white and blackish brown, and the undertail coverts are dark cinnamon rufous. Subspecies L. m. oenops is similar to the nominate, but has paler upperparts and is rufous on the forecrown and around the eye. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:23

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1136278 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Duet0:51

Brazil · 2024

© Robson Silva e Silva · XC1018776 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:24

French Guiana · 2025

© Paul Lenrumé · XC979222 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
2 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
3 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
4 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
5 El Impenetrable National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
6 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
7 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
8 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
9 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
2 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
3 Recife 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
4 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
5 Rosario 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
6 Fortaleza 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
7 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
8 Montevideo 🇺🇾 Uruguay
<5%
9 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
10 Santa Cruz de la Sierra 🇧🇴 Bolivia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rufous-sided Crake in Belo Horizonte?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-sided Crake sighting in Belo Horizonte on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 152nd most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rufous-sided Crake in Belo Horizonte?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-sided Crake in Belo Horizonte on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Rufous-sided Crake?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-sided Crake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Belo Horizonte the best place to see a Rufous-sided Crake?

11th of 14

Of the 14 cities where we can rate Rufous-sided Crake sightings, Belo Horizonte ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Buenos Aires (Argentina, about 10%), Porto Alegre (Brazil, about 10%) and Recife (Brazil, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Rufous-sided Crake live in Belo Horizonte?

Same family: Rallidae

The closest relatives of the Rufous-sided Crake that you can see in Belo Horizonte (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are Gray-cowled Wood-Rail (about 20%) and Common Moorhen (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Rufous-sided Crake sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rufous-sided Crake is recorded against all the birds logged in Belo Horizonte (20 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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