Featured Article Summary #216

The grey-cowled, or grey-necked, wood rail (Aramides cajaneus) is a bird in the rail family found in Central and South America. It lives mainly in forests, mangroves, and swamps, ranging from sea level up to about 2000 m, and it occurs widely across its range. Because of its large distribution and population, it is listed as least concern by the IUCN, though in some places it is occasionally hunted and eaten. The bird has a grey head and neck, with olive-to-dark brown coloring on the back and a rufous chest and flanks; its belly, rump, and tail are black, and it has coral-red legs and a greenish-yellow bill. Males and females look similar, while juveniles are duller and chicks have black, downy feathers, a brown head, and a black beak. It breeds from about March to August, making nests on branches or in thickets, laying three to seven eggs incubated by both parents, and feeding on a variety of foods including molluscs, seeds, and even giant otter feces. The grey-cowled wood rail belongs to the rail family Rallidae. It was first described in 1776 as Fulica cajanea, later moved to the genus Aramides, and the species name was adjusted to cajaneus. It is closely related to the russet-naped wood rail, and they were once treated as subspecies of one species before being separated again in 2015; opinions differ on how many subspecies the grey-cowled wood rail has, with some suggesting one could be a separate species due to differences in appearance and calls. The IUCN currently lists two subspecies: Aramides cajaneus cajaneus and A. c. avicenniae. The genus name Aramides comes from combining Aramus with the Greek word oidēs, meaning “resembling,” because the birds look similar to the single species in Aramus. The species name cajaneus refers to Cayenne in French Guiana, while the subspecies name avicenniae honors the Persian philosopher Avicenna. The grey-cowled wood rail is a fairly large wood rail, measuring 33–40 cm and weighing 320–465 g. It has olive-green to dark brown body feathers, a medium-grey head and neck, red eyes, rufous chest and sides, black belly and tail, coral-red legs, and a bright greenish-yellow bill; males and females look similar. Juveniles are duller and have darker, flecked bellies with dusky bill and legs, while chicks are black and downy with brownish heads and lined dark eyes. One subspecies, avicenniae, is smaller and has a dull grey nape and back, less or no brown spot on the head, and slightly different colouring on the wings and underparts. The grey-cowled wood rail makes loud, repetitive cackling calls, especially at dawn and dusk, such as “pop-tiyi” and “chitico chitico cao-cao-cao.” These calls are often given in pairs or small groups. The harsh, shriek-like sound of the “chitico chitico cao-cao-cao” call is similar to the brown wood rail’s “kui-ko” call.