Russet-naped wood rail

The russet-naped wood rail was originally described as a species but in the early 20th century was reclassified as a subspecies of what was then called the gray-necked wood rail (Aramides cajanea). A 2015 paper by Marcondes and Silveira[4] proposed reconsidering its position and in 2016 taxonomic systems restored it to species status and renamed the now-reduced A. cajanea the grey-cowled wood rail.[5][2][6][3]

The Clements taxonomy and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World follow Marcondes and Silveira in treating the russet-naped wood rail as monotypic.[4][6][3] However, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) assigns it these five subspecies:[2]

• A. a. mexicanus Bangs, 1907
• A. a. vanrossemi Dickey, 1929
• A. a. albiventris Lawrence, 1867
• A. a. pacificus A. H. Miller & Griscom, 1921
• A. a. plumbeicollis Zeledon, 1888

A. a. plumbeicollis displaying wing and head coloration

The russet-naped wood rail is 33 to 40 cm (13 to 16 in) long and weighs about 450 to 600 g (16 to 21 oz). The sexes are alike and the subspecies are practically indistinguishable from each other. Adults have a thick dark yellow bill with a light green tip, a deep red eye, and red to pink legs and feet. Their forehead, crown, and hindneck are slate gray, and the back of the head has a chestnut patch. Their back is grayish olive and the tail black. Their chin and upper throat are white and the sides of the neck, lower throat, and upper breast are gray. The rest of their breast, the upper belly, and flanks are pale tawny cinnamon blending to a pale band separating them from the black lower belly, vent, and underatail coverts. Juveniles have no white on their belly and instead of the adult's black underparts theirs are dark gray with tawny flecks.[7]

According to the IOC, the subspecies of russet-naped wood rail are found thus:[2][7]

• A. a. mexicanus, eastern Mexico from southern Tamaulipas south onto the Yucatán Peninsula
• A. a. vanrossemi, the Pacific slope from Oaxaca in southern Mexico to southern Guatemala and El Salvador
• A. a. albiventris, from the Yucatán Peninsula through Belize into northern Guatemala
• A. a. pacificus, the Caribbean slope of Honduras and Nicaragua
• A. a. plumbeicollis, northeastern Costa Rica

The russet-naped wood rail inhabits a wide variety of landscapes, both wet and dry. Marshes both fresh and salt, swamp forest, river and stream corridors, thorn forest, semi-evergreen forest, and mangrove forest are all represented as long as they provide dense cover.[7]

The IUCN has assessed the russet-naped wood rail as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range and an estimated population of at least 50,000 mature individuals, though the latter is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] "The mangrove and marsh habitats preferred by this species are undoubtedly some of the world’s most fragile and threatened habitat types".[7]