The black-banded crake (Laterallus fasciatus) is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.[2][3][4]

Black-banded crake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Rallidae
Genus: Laterallus
Species:
L. fasciatus
Binomial name
Laterallus fasciatus
Synonyms
  • Anurolimnas fasciatus
  • Porzana fasciata

Taxonomy and systematics

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The black-banded crake's taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee places it in genus Laterallus. BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World places it in genus Porzana. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy place it in genus Anurolimnas.[2][3][5][6]

The worldwide taxonomic systems agree that the black-banded crake is monotypic.[2][3][6]

Description

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The black-banded crake is 17 to 20 cm (6.7 to 7.9 in) long. The sexes are alike. Adults have a dark horn or blackish bill. Their head, throat, and breast are rufous. Their back, rump, and wings are deep olive-brown, with a light reddish tinge to the inner flight feathers. Their belly, vent, and undertail coverts are cinnamon-rufous with heavy black bars. Their legs and feet are bright coral red. Immatures have a paler head and breast than adults. Their upperparts' olive-brown has a chestnut wash and the barring on their underparts is olive-brown.[7]

Distribution and habitat

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The black-banded crake is found in the western Amazon Basin, from southeastern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador to south-central Peru and east into western Brazil. It inhabits humid landscapes with a dense understory such as secondary forest, where it especially favors overgrown agricultural plots in tropical evergreen forest. It also favors thickets of Heliconia and, on river islands, stands of Cecropia. In elevation it is mostly found below 600 m (2,000 ft) but reaches as high as 1,100 m (3,600 ft) locally in Ecuador.[7]

Behavior

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Movement

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The black-banded crake is a year-round resident throughout its range.[7]

Feeding

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The black-banded crake forages on damp ground in dense cover, where it searches for food in leaf litter. Its diet has not been documented but is assumed to be invertebrates and seeds.[7]

Breeding

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Almost nothing is known about the black-banded crake's breeding biology. It vigorously defends territories of up to about 2 ha (5 acres). It makes a dome nest of grass with a side entrance. One was sited on a fallen limb about 2 m (7 ft) above the ground.[7]

Vocalization

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One author described the black-banded crake's song as "a rubbery, musical trill, deeper and more bubbly than that of [other] Laterallus crakes." The female sings a shorter version of the song than the male.[7]

Status

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The IUCN has assessed the black-banded crake as being of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size and trend are not known. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] Authors describe it as "rare to locally fairly common" in Ecuador and "rare but widespread" in Peru. The species "may even benefit from low levels of human disturbance, taking advantage of edge habitats around small garden plots."[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2016). "Porzana fasciata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22692330A93348601. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692330A93348601.en.
  2. ^ a b c Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Flufftails, finfoots, rails, trumpeters, cranes, limpkin". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b c HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved 7 August 2022
  4. ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved 24 July 2022
  5. ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 24 July 2022
  6. ^ a b Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved 10 November 2022
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Schulenberg, T. S. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Black-banded Crake (Anurolimnas fasciatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blbcra1.01 retrieved 26 November 2022