Russet-naped Wood-Rail

Russet-naped Wood-Rail

Aramides albiventris

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Tortuguero National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

707 Verified sightings at Tortuguero National Park From 2019 to 2026
4,777 In all 17 parks
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Russet-naped Wood-Rail

The russet-naped wood rail or rufous-naped wood rail (Aramides albiventris) is a species of bird in the subfamily Rallinae of the rail, crake, and coot family Rallidae. It is found from Mexico to Costa Rica. The russet-naped wood rail was originally described as a species but in the early 20th century was reclassified as a subspecies of what was then called the gray-necked wood rail (Aramides cajanea). A 2015 paper by Marcondes and Silveira proposed reconsidering its position and in 2016 taxonomic systems restored it to species status and renamed the now-reduced A. cajanea the grey-cowled wood rail.

The Clements taxonomy and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World follow Marcondes and Silveira in treating the russet-naped wood rail as monotypic. However, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) assigns it these five subspecies:

The sexes... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:44

Mexico · 2020

© Macario Fernández Popo · XC543359 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:25

Costa Rica · 2016

© Frank Lambert · XC411218 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:48

Costa Rica · 2010

© Scott Olmstead · XC45138 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~50%
2 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
3 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
4 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
5 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
6 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
7 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
8 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
9 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
10 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
11 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
12 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
13 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
14 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
<5%
15 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
16 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
17 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Bronx Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Russet-naped Wood-Rail in Tortuguero National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Russet-naped Wood-Rail sighting in Tortuguero National Park on a given day, based on 707 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 60th most-seen of the 348 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Russet-naped Wood-Rail in Tortuguero National Park?

May

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Russet-naped Wood-Rail in Tortuguero National Park on a given day, against about 10% in October, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Russet-naped Wood-Rail?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Russet-naped Wood-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.

Is Tortuguero National Park the best place to see a Russet-naped Wood-Rail?

2nd of 17

Of the 17 parks where we can rate Russet-naped Wood-Rail sightings, Tortuguero National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Tikal National Park (Guatemala, about 50%).

Which relatives of the Russet-naped Wood-Rail live in Tortuguero National Park?

Same family: Rallidae

The closest relatives of the Russet-naped Wood-Rail that you can see in Tortuguero National Park (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are American Purple Gallinule (about 30%) and White-throated Crake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Russet-naped Wood-Rail sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Russet-naped Wood-Rail is recorded against all the birds logged in Tortuguero National Park (707 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.

← Back to Tortuguero National Park