The Story
I photographed this Gray-cowled Wood-Rail (Aramides cajaneus) at the Charca de Guarinocito, near La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia, in February 2020. It lives in forests, mangroves and swamps from Central America to Argentina, usually below 2,000 meters. Pairs are monogamous and stay together all year. It eats everything from mollusks to seeds and has even been seen feeding on giant otter droppings. Its loud cackling call, ‘pop-tiyi pop-tiyi co-co-co’, is heard mainly at dawn and dusk. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600. The Charca de Guarinocito is an old oxbow of the Magdalena River that stays connected to the river all year.
©2020 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