Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Population justification
The species is normally described as very rare, but the records from Taubaté have been taken to indicate that it is difficult to find rather than scarce, although further evidence for this is required (Taylor and van Perlo 1998).
Trend justification
The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction (del Hoyo et al. 1996).
This species has been recorded in Colombia (Meta, once in 1959), Venezuela (twice, in 1914 or 1916 in Mérida and 1954 or 1960 in Portuguesa), Guyana (once in 1907), Brazil (three sites in São Paulo state, with recent and repeated sightings at Taubaté, and two in Rio Grande do Sul), Paraguay (three records, in Presidente Hayes, Concepción and Alto Paraná, all before 1945), Uruguay (six localities, from Durazno in 1915 and 1918, Colonia in 1985 when breeding was confirmed, Montevideo in 1985, Maldonado in 1993 and at sea off Rocha in 1875) and Argentina (at least 10 records from Corrientes south to Patagonia, with four recent records of single birds from Reserva Municipal de Biosfera Mar Chiquita, Buenos Aires) (Collar et al. 1992, Taylor and van Perlo 1998, Martinez et al. 1997). The only record for Bolivia is a sighting of one bird at the Beni Biological Station in 1997, over 1,000 km from the closest previously known locality in Paraguay (Brace et al. 1998). Its distribution is certainly not fully understood, with birds possibly either undertaking north-south migrations or occasionally erupting large distances in a random pattern from their centres of distribution in north and east South America (Collar et al. 1992). The former is unlikely since the species occurs in east Brazil from April-August and March-June in Paraguay and Uruguay, and Venezuelan specimens taken in August had enlarged gonads (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). The latter is much more likely, but there is no proper evidence to suggest that the centres of distribution are in tropical grasslands, and it is also possible that the species's distribution is wider and more continuous than currently thought (Taylor and van Perlo 1998).
The species habitat is variable, and it has been recorded from dense marshy vegetation (including rushes, reedbeds and floating vegetation), swamps, flooded rice fields, alfalfa fields, wheat fields, flooded pasture and other wet grasslands, open grassy savanna, crop stubble, brackish coastal Spartina species dominated grasslands and humid woodland edge, mainly in the lowlands at elevations up to 1,500 m (Taylor and van Perlo 1998).
Specific threats are difficult to determine given its poorly known distribution and apparently catholic habitat requirements, but the grasslands of central South America, where it is seemingly most common, are under intense pressure from high levels of grazing and frequent burning (Collar et al. 1992). It suffers particularly from the latter since at one site in Buenos Aires, it disappeared for up to one year after burning (Martinez et al. 1997).
Conservation Actions Underway
The species is known to occur in three protected areas in Argentina: Bañados del Río Dulce (Córdoba), Otamendi Strict Nature Reserve and Reserva Municipal de Biosfera Mar Chiquita (both Buenos Aires). The Colombian and Bolivian sites, and one Venezuelan site (in Mérida) are also protected (Taylor and van Perlo 1998, Wege and Long 1995).
Text account compilers
Ekstrom, J., Butchart, S., Harding, M.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Speckled Rail Coturnicops notatus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/speckled-rail-coturnicops-notatus on 20/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 20/12/2024.