Red-and-white Crake Laterallus leucopyrrhus

The Red-and-white Crake is one of the most distinctive members of the fairly large Laterallus genus. The coralline red legs and the white-flanked black undertail coverts are perhaps its most peculiar features. It is widely distributed in eastern South America, from central eastern Brazil through central eastern Argentina including Uruguay and eastern Paraguay. Although frequently traded in the cage-market, many aspects of its ecology, vocalizations and behavior remain little known. Red-and-white Crakes can be quite common in densely vegetated freshwater marshes, where they are year-round residents. A diagnostic whistle is perhaps the best vocalization to tell it quickly apart from the frequently sympatric Rufous-sided Crake, whose trills are quite similar in these two species.