About Pardirallus maculatus (Boddaert, 1783)
The spotted rail, Pardirallus maculatus (Boddaert, 1783), measures 25 to 28 cm (9.8 to 11.0 in) long and weighs 130 to 220 g (4.6 to 7.8 oz); females are slightly smaller than males, though the sexes are otherwise similar in appearance. Adults have a long greenish bill with a red spot at the base of the mandible, and pinkish legs. Immature birds are much drabber than adults, and some immatures may lack the barring seen on adults; older immatures develop the full plumage pattern of adults. Juvenile spotted rails have a more yellowish bill, a brown iris, and overall drabber plumage, especially on their legs and feet. Juvenile plumage is variable and occurs in three morphs: the dark morph has almost plain dark brown upperparts, and sooty ventral feathers with dark tips and no white bars; the pale morph has pale greyish brown throat and breast, with weak white barring on the breast; the barred morph has grey throat spotted with white, and sharply white-barred breast and belly. Dark morph juvenile plumage can be confused with that of Pardirallus sanguinolentus and Pardirallus nigricans, but both of these species have paler upperparts and bright red legs and feet that set them apart. Additionally, P. sanguinolentus is larger, has a grey chin and throat, and a grey-brown vent that contrasts with its slaty grey underparts. P. nigricans has a black vent and black tail. The two recognized subspecies of P. maculatus both share a blackish head with a red eye, black and brown upperparts, and black underparts marked with white streaks and spots. The nominate subspecies P. m. maculatus has white streaks on its upperparts and a shorter, more slender bill, while P. m. insolitus has white spots on its upperparts and a larger bill. Juveniles of the two subspecies can be distinguished by their undertail-coverts: P. m. maculatus juveniles have buff undertail-coverts with grey or white tips, while P. m. insolitus juveniles have grey undertail-coverts with white tips. Based on molt stages of a small number of observed specimens collected between August and December, George E. Watson determined that molting occurs from August to December in the Cuban population of spotted rail. For distribution and habitat: the subspecies P. m. insolitus occurs from Mexico to Costa Rica. The nominate subspecies P. m. maculatus is found in Cuba, Hispaniola (which includes the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Jamaica, and every mainland South American country except Guyana; in Chile, it is only recorded as a vagrant to the Juan Fernández Islands. The species is also present in Panama, but the subspecies occurring there has not been identified. The spotted rail's distribution across Mexico, Central America, and much of South America is local rather than continuous. In addition to Chile, the species has been recorded as a vagrant in Trinidad, and in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Texas. The spotted rail lives in wet landscapes including marshes, swamps, rice fields, and wet grasslands, and requires dense vegetative cover.
