Pardirallus nigricans
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The blackish rail (Pardirallus nigricans) is a species of bird in the subfamily Rallinae of the rail, crake, and coot family Rallidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, and possibly Bolivia.
The blackish rail has previously been placed in the large genus Rallus, and also in genus Orygonax with the plumbeous rail (Pardirallus sanguinolentus). Some authors propose that the blackish and plumbeous rails are conspecific, and they do form a superspecies.
The blackish rail is 27 to 29 cm (11 to 11 in) long; one male weighed 217 g (7.7 oz). The sexes are alike. They have a long yellow-green bill and pinkish legs. The nominate subspecies has unmarked dark brown upperparts, a white chin and throat, and dark gray face and underparts. P. n. caucae is larger than the nominate and has a larger and whiter throat patch and paler underparts especially at the vent.
The blackish rail has a disjunct distribution. The nominate subspecies has two populations. One is found from northeastern Brazil... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 7 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 8 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Campinas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Santos | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Maceió | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blackish Rail sighting in Iguazú National Park on a given day, based on 643 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 89th most-seen of the 343 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blackish Rail in Iguazú National Park on a given day, against about 10% in May–September and November–February, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blackish Rail sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Blackish Rail sightings, Iguazú National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, about 10%) and Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blackish Rail is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguazú National Park (643 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.
