Plumbeous Rail (Pardirallus sanguinolentus)

Plumbeous Rail Pardirallus sanguinolentus
Chilean name: Pidén

Plumbeous Rail, Caulin, Chiloe, Chile, November 2005 - click for larger image

Chile and Peru

The Plumbeous Rail is distributed from Peru across to south-east Brazil and south to Tierra del Fuego. It is found in marshes and ponds surrounded by dense vegetation but is relatively easy to see.

It is large with a long decurved bill which is green and sky blue on the maxilla while the mandible has a reddish base.

Photos 1 to 4 are of the sub-species P. s. landbecki which is the second largest race with an unmottled back and paler upperparts. Photo 5 from north-west Peru is of the sub-species P. s. simonsi.

Juvenile Plumbeous Rail, Vichuquén, Chile, November 2005 - click for larger image

Photo 4 shows a juvenile bird with brown plumage, a buffy-white chin and black bill, legs and feet.

Plumbeous Rail, Eten, Lambayeque, Peru, October 2018 - click for larger image

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