The Speckled Rail (Coturnicops notatus) is one of the least known Neotropical birds. Despite the ongoing debate if its rarity is genuine or related to detection problems, its conservation status has been recurrently assessed as “least-concern.” Absence of voice recordings and thorough voice descriptions are the major limitations in determining its distribution and population size, which may bias the assessment of its conservation status. We present the first voice analyses of this species and two new records for southeastern South America based on individuals received by a wildlife rehabilitation center in southern Brazil. The first individual was found aboard a ship traveling from Uruguay to the Brazilian port of Rio Grande in October 2007, and the second was found in the Brazilian city of Pelotas in August 2015. At least three different types of voices of the latter individual were recorded and analyzed, all of which differ in pitch, timbre, and structure from the voices of other South American rails and crakes. One of these voices apparently is a contact call, the other a distress sound, and the third may be a form of territorial advertisement. Our recordings, voice analysis, and descriptions may help locate individuals in the field and increase our knowledge about this mysterious wetland bird.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 December 2016
First Voice Analysis and New Records of the Mysterious Speckled Rail (Coturnicops notatus)
Rafael Antunes Dias,
Elliott Centeno,
Marco Antônio Afonso Coimbra,
Edison Zefa
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
bioacoustics
Call
migration
rallidae
voice
wetland birds