Laterallus melanophaius
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | El Impenetrable National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 9 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Rosario | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Fortaleza | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 9 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-sided Crake sighting in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, based on 279 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 139th most-seen of the 346 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-sided Crake in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month.
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.
4th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Rufous-sided Crake sightings, Iguaçu National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Iberá National Park (Argentina, about 20%), Manu National Park (Peru, about 10%) and Iguazú National Park (Argentina, about 10%).
Same family: Rallidae
The closest relatives of the Rufous-sided Crake that you can see in Iguaçu National Park (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are Blackish Rail (about 10%) and Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-sided Crake is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguaçu National Park (279 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
