Rallus semiplumbeus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Bogotá rail (Rallus semiplumbeus) is a Vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is endemic to Colombia. The bird is a typical medium-sized rail with a plump body that is laterally compressed ("skinny as a rail"), a short tail and an elongated bill.
The Bogotá rail was first described in 1856 by the American ornithologist Philip Sclater, based on a specimen sent to him by the French collectors Jules and Édouard Verreaux. The generic name Rallus is thought to derive from the name for these birds in French (Rale) or German (ralle). The specific epithet semiplumbeus comes from the Latin plumbum (lead), suggesting that the bird is somewhat the color of lead.
The Bogotá rail has two known subspecies: R. s. peruvianus is known from a single specimen thought to have been collected in Peru; it is now considered to be extinct. Some authors have suggested that it represents a distinct species.
The taxonomic relationships among the Rallidae species are complex and not fully resolved, but phylogenetic analysis has determined... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chingaza National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bogotá Rail sighting in Bogota on a given day, based on 224 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 80th most-seen of the 231 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March, July and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bogotá Rail in Bogota on a given day, against under 5% in January, April–June and August–November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bogotá Rail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Bogota, in our data
Bogota is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Bogotá Rail sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Rallidae
The closest relatives of the Bogotá Rail that you can see in Bogota (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are American Coot (about 40%), Common Moorhen (about 30%) and American Purple Gallinule (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bogotá Rail is recorded against all the birds logged in Bogota (224 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.
