Ruddy Crake
Encyclopedia
The Ruddy Crake is a bird
in the rail family, Rallidae
. It is a small crake, 14-16.5 cm in length. It is mostly bright chestnut in colour with a paler chin and belly, blackish crown and dark grey ear-coverts. The bill
is black, the iris
is red and the legs and feet are olive-green.
The bird occurs from Mexico
south to north-west Costa Rica
. It is found in freshwater habitats such as marshes, reedbeds, damp fields and ditches.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the rail family, Rallidae
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
. It is a small crake, 14-16.5 cm in length. It is mostly bright chestnut in colour with a paler chin and belly, blackish crown and dark grey ear-coverts. The bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is black, the iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
is red and the legs and feet are olive-green.
The bird occurs from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
south to north-west Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. It is found in freshwater habitats such as marshes, reedbeds, damp fields and ditches.