DISTRIBUTION

Colombian Crake ( columbianus) and Paint-billed Crake (iV. erythrops): first breeding records for Central America

Robert A. Behrstock

HEGENUS Neocrex consists of two includingpredatory and fish-eating spe- We notedthe yellowish-green bill which small rails, both of which had been cies;attracted to concentrationsof dying hada redspot at the base of themandible, known to breed in northern Colombia. fishes,which were suffocating in thelast thered eyes, red legs, and the body plum- While occasionallyincluded in other few warm,shallow, crowded pools. agewholly patterned in blackand white. genera, or considered conspecific, One area with muchactivity was a We observed the for about 45 sec- Ridgely(1976) and the A.O.U. 0983) shallow,mostly dry ricefield ditchlocat- onds, then briefly several times until splitthe two formsinto species,main- ed ca oneroad km beyondthe main en- about6:45 a.m. This representedthe tainingthe genus Neocrex, following Ol- tranceto Tocumen Marsh. On February3 thirdreport of SpottedRail in Panama, son (1973). The ColombianCrake, N. and 19, I exploredthis ditch with Ben and the second from Tocumen Marsh columbianus,may be differentiatedfrom Feitnerand others. Both dayswe were wherebreeding was confirmedin 1978 the similarPaint-billed Crake, N. eryth- impressedwith several dozen Soras (Por- (Emanuel1980). In the not-yet-bright tops, by its pale cinnamonflanks and zanacarolina), whichwe sawand heard, light, I obtainedpoor but recognizable under tail coverts,these areas being as well as the numerous other small wa- transparenciesof the bird. On February barredwith black and white in eo'throps; terbirdsconcentrated by low andfalling 27, DavidWolf sawa SpottedRail at this andby columbianuspossessing a narrow- waterlevels. At thisditch, during Febru- samelocation, and February 28, sixof us er nostril.Additionally, the underwing ary 21 and 22, David Wolf, Bret Whit- observedthe bird, also early in the coverts are white in columbianus and of- ney, andJan Pierson, accompanied by morning. tenbarred with black in erythrops(Rip- otherbirders, observed rails matching the At about6:45 a.m., February28, our ley 1977). The ColombianCrake was in- descriptionof Colombian and/or Paint- cluded in the avifauna of Central first ColombianCrake ran along the billedcrakes. Learning of theirgood for- grassyedge of the ditch about 15 m dis- Americaon the basis of a singlebird col- tune, I returned to the area on the morn- tant. Duringthis brief sighting,I noted lected from a small marsh on Achiote ing of February23, accompaniedby theshort red and yellow bill, andgeneral- Road,western Colon province, Panama, MargBenson and Polly Rothstein. By ly darkplumage devoid of spotsor bar- November8, 1965by HenryVan Horn 6:15 a.m., we were stationedat the ditch. ring.Moments later, anotherbird crossed (Ridgely 1976). Wetmore (1967) de- At 6:30a.m., a SpottedRail (Pardira!!us theditch about5 m from us. We notedthe scribedthat specimenas the raceN. c. maculatus),walked out of thetall grass soliddark slaty underparts, brownish cast ripleyi, which, basedon it and an addi- intoan open muddy area ca 8 m fromus. to theback and wings, bicolored bill, red tional individual collected at Acandi, northernChoco, is knownto rangeonly from central Panama to extreme north- westernColombia (Ripley 1977). This paper documents newly-discovered breedingpopulations of Colombianand Paint-billedcrakes in Panama,and pro- videssight records of bothin a possible zoneof sympatry. By late February,1982, Panamawas well into its dry season.At Tocumen Marsh, easternPanama province, just eastof theInternational Airport, the vast ricefields interspersed with savanna-like habitatwere dry. Extensiveareas of the once great "marsh" had been burned for agricultural purposes, concentrating manybirds into any remaininghabitat. Standingwater remained only in thefew small lakes and ponds, and in several shallowdrainage ditches. Where cover remained,these vestiges of aquatichabi- ColumbianCrake, Neocrex columbianus, at Tocumen Marsh, Republic ofPana•na, Feb. 23, tat attractedaggregations of waterbirds, 1983. Photo/R.A. Behrstock.

956 AmericanBirds, November-December 1983 legs,and small white throatpatch. An- tral plumage,highly suggestiveof the somewhatlarger endemic Zapata other bird somewhatfarther away and palerN. c. columbianus. (Cyanolymnascerverai), of Cuba. movingin a differentdirection led us to While discussingthis situationwith No studyhas been made of the two believeat leastthree adultswere present David Wolf, I learned that in addition to Neocrexin theirpossible zone of overlap that morning.All three exhibited seeingtwo adultN. columbianuson Feb- in westernEcuador (pers. comm., R. S. the same combination of field marks. 1 mary 21, he, Whitney and Piersonhad Ridgely).Thus, it would be of great in- obtainedphotographs which illustrate the observedon Febmary 21, 22, and 27, terest to follow the situation in Panama; characteristics noted above. The birds fromone to perhapsas many as five Neo- first, to determine whether erythrops werevery difficult to photograph,always crex crakes with barred flanks and under staysto breed on the Pacific coast of scootingrapidly along the grassymar- tail coverts, i.e., Paint-billed Crakes at Panama; and second, to see if it inter- gins,or runningacross the openmuddy the same site! Initially, these observa- breeds with the similar columbianus. Ad- areas, making only the briefest stops. tions appearedto constitutethe first ditionally,now thatthe wide-rangingN. Thesephotos document the presenceof Panamanianrecords of N. erythrops,but e. olivascens has a foothold in Central ColombianCrake on the Pacific slopeof pursuingthe topicyielded the following America,will it continueto spreadnorth- Panama. information. The United States National ward? And, were the individuals taken in Museum received one of two Neocrex Texasand Virginia (Arnold 1978, Scott •b6:50a.M., a somewhatdifferent crakescollected November 10, 1981 by 1979)truly "vagrants," or merelyover- ird appearedabout 8 m from us. Donald C. Booth and Wilberto Martinez. zealous pioneers radiating from the This bird walked slowly and less warily The birds were taken 6 km west of the fringesof an alreadyexpanding popula- into the open, and unlike its predeces- Changuinolaairport, in the Caribbean tion? sors, remained in view for at least 30 coastallowlands of Bocasdel Toro prov- seconds,during which time I photo- ince, Panama. Here, the birds were ap- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS graphedit. As it movedacross the open parentlyresident and evidently common, muddyareas, it testedeach step, occa- as pairscould frequentlybe seenat wet sionallybecoming stuck in thesticky sur- openingsand alongthe road. Although facefilm, andhaving to wiggleits mired *^KERidgelyPEe^SUI•œand Roger inthankingPasquier Robertfor shar-S. difficultto observeduring the day, the ing data and insightsconcerning N. footto free it. This rail alsohad red legs, birdscould readily be seenat dusk, and but the bill was dull pink, lacking the eo'thropsin Panama, and for making bicoloredeffect of the adult's. The body severalhelpful comments regarding this plumagewas very similar to that of the paper.I alsothank David Wolf and Bret adult'sexcept that the brownishprimar- Whitneyfor generouslyallowing me to ieswere not fully grown,giving the bird incorporateinformation from their field notes. a club-wingedappearance. The juvenile appearedbarely smallerthan the adults, This paperis dedicatedto the memory butthat may havebeen due to the shorter of Bill Clow who, duringhis brief so- wing length. Several times the bird journ among us showed many people pickedat objectson the mud, but we howto walk throughlife with openeyes, were unableto see if it swallowedany- open ears, and an open heart. thing.The youngbird disappearedfor a LITERATURE CITED minuteor two, reappearedfor about 15 sec., then vanished. We had severalmore AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION. quicklooks at the adults.By 7:00 a.m., 1983. Check-list of North American theserails had retired to the tall grass, Birds, 6th ed, Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas. andby 7:!5 a.m., the lessshy Sores had ARNOLD. K. 1978. First United States re- also withdrawn to cover. I believe that cordof Paint-billedCrake (Neocrexeryth- Columbian Crake, immature, Tocumen the presenceof a juvenile with newly- rops). Auk 95: 745-746. Marsh, Feb. 23, 1983. Photo/R.A. Behrstock. emergingprimaries, i.e., flightless,Co- EMANUEL, V. 1980. First documented lombian Crake at Tocumen Marsh is in- presumablydawn. The habitat was tall Panamarecord of SpottedRail (Pardiral- dicativeof their breedingon the Pacific grassand ditches surrounding rice fields. lus maculatus). Amer. Birds 34: 214-215. OLSON, S. L. 1973. A classification of the White-throated Crakes (Laternilus albi- slopeof Panama.This locationis about Rallidae. Wilson Bull. 85: 381-416. 75 km southeastof the collectingsite of gularis), were found in the samehabitat. RIDGELY, R. S. 1976. A Guide to the Birds thefirst Panamanianspecimen, and is on Theselast three points parallel our expe- of Panama. Princeton Univ. Press, Prince- the other (south) side of the Continental riencewith Neocrex on thePacific slope. ton, N.J. Divide. This brings up the question The specimenwas examinedby S. D. RIPLEY, S. D. 1977. Rails of the World. whetherthe Tocumenbirds represent the Ripley, anddetermined to representnot David R. Godine, Pub., Boston, Mass. SCOTT, F. R. 1979. Aud. Field Notes 33: sparselydistributed N. c. ripleyi, or the N. c. ripleyi, alreadyknown from the 270-272. Caribbeanslope of Panama,but N. ervth- morewidely ranging N. c. columbianus WETMORE. A. 1967. Further systematic of northeast and Pacific coastal Colombia ropsolivascens, the wide-ranging race of notes on the avifauna of Panama. Proc. and northwest Ecuador. While high Paint-billedCrake found in Colombia, Biol. Soc. Wash. 80: 229-230. speedfilm, low lightlevels, and long ex- Venezuela,Suriname, Brazil, Paraguay, posuresall combineto alterthe hues of a Bolivia,and Argentina. This samestock --Peregrine, Inc., photograph,my slidesdepict an adult had recentlycolonized the Galapagos, P.O. Box 3062, birdwith blue-gray head, neck, and ven- and bears a remarkable likeness to the Houston, TX 77253.

Vol. 37. Number 6 957