Russet-naped Wood-Rail

(Aramides albiventris)

eBird gives this description for the Russet-naped Wood-Rail: Large, brightly colored, chicken-like rail of freshwater marshes and damp woodland, less often occurs in mangroves. Unlike many rails, can be conspicuous, even bold, walking in the open along the edge of ponds and rivers, twitching its short black tail; usually seen singly or in pairs. Note long yellowish bill, hot-pink legs, and gray head and neck contrasting with orangey breast. Similar to Gray-cowled Wood-Rail, but barely any range overlap, and Russet-naped has a bright reddish-brown patch on the back of the head.

The Birds of the World website introduces the Russet-naped Wood-Rail with this descriptive information:  Russet-naped Wood-Rail is one of only two species of Aramides rails occurring north of Costa Rica. Primarily a bird of swampy forest, mangroves, and the margins of forest streams, these secretive wood-rails usually remain well hidden within thickets and vine tangles. They may, however, venture out into the open along rivers, or at the edges of ponds or clearings. Their diet is not well documented, but is probably a mixture of arthropods, crustaceans, snails, small vertebrates such as snakes, and seeds or berries. The nest is not well described, but is a simple, shallow bowl of leaves and sticks, placed low in a bush or tree, often above water. Russet-naped Wood-Rail and Gray-cowled Wood-Rail (Aramides cajaneus) were long considered to be a single species, and then known as Gray-necked Wood-Rail. A recent review of variation in plumage and vocalizations, however, found that most of the previously recognized subspecies were not well defined but that these two species replace each other very abruptly in Costa Rica. Russet-naped Wood-Rail ranges from northern Costa Rica northward, while Gray-cowled Wood-Rail occupies the remainder of their collective range, from southern Costa Rica to Argentina. 

I saw my first Russet-naped Wood-Rail while walking the trails of La Selva on the morning of February 7, 2023.  The bird was fairly cooperative, but poor light under the dense canopy resulted in a poor photo, as you can see below.