The white-throated crake is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.
Region
Central America and northern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs from Honduras and Nicaragua south through Costa Rica and Panama into northwestern South America, including Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Favors lowland and foothill wetlands with dense ground cover. Typical habitats include marshes, wet meadows, overgrown pond margins, flooded pastures, and rice fields. It keeps close to thick vegetation and rarely ventures into open water.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1600 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This small, secretive rail is far more often heard than seen, slipping through dense grasses and marsh edges with remarkable stealth. Its accelerating trills and sharp ticking calls are key to detecting it, and pairs may duet. It readily uses human-altered wetlands like rice fields, provided dense cover is available. Despite its name-highlighted white throat, brief views are typical as it dashes between clumps of vegetation.
Illustration by Joseph Smit, 1869
Temperament
secretive and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats; reluctant flier
Social Behavior
Typically found singly or in pairs, staying low within dense grasses and sedges. Nests are concealed in thick vegetation near water, often domed or well-covered, with a small clutch of eggs. Pairs may maintain small territories and communicate frequently by voice.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include rapid ticking notes that accelerate into a trill, often given at dawn and dusk. Pairs may duet with alternating series of sharp chips and trills that carry through marsh vegetation.
