The Story
On June 19, 2017, I photographed this Gray-cowled Wood-Rail (Aramides cajaneus) near Filandia, Quindío, Colombia. It lives mainly in the forests, mangroves and swamps of Central and South America. Pairs stay together throughout the year. It is large for a wood rail, with a gray head and neck, rufous chest, coral-red legs and a greenish-yellow bill. Filandia is the northernmost town in Quindío, about 26 kilometers north of Armenia, at 1,923 meters above sea level.
I used a Canon EOS 70D and the EF400mm f/5.6L USM for this one, at 1/250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 500. IUCN lists the Gray-cowled Wood-Rail as Least Concern with a stable population, and the Barbas-Bremen soil conservation district protects about 4,910 hectares of Filandia and Circasia, including the Barbas canyon.
©2018 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Gray-cowled Wood-Rail (Aramides cajaneus) belongs to the family Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List