Paint-billed Crake in Galápagos: Facts and Where to See It

The crake gets its name from its red and yellow bill, and it has bright red legs to match. The crown, nape, back and tail are brown, the face and breast grey, the throat white, and the flanks and belly barred black and white. Males and females look alike. The Galápagos birds belong to the nominate subspecies, which also lives in coastal Ecuador and Peru.

• Secretive. Field guides call it very furtive and difficult to observe, and it does not respond to recorded calls.
• Voice. Its song is a long, accelerating series of yelping notes; calls include soft purring and a sharp "twack".
• Wanderer. It has turned up far outside its range, as far as Texas and Virginia.

Across its range, the paint-billed crake uses a wide variety of landscapes: reedbeds and marshes, wet and dry pastures, rice fields and fairly dry bushy areas. In Galápagos it lives in humid woodlands. It forages in soil, leaf litter and standing water, and at dawn and dusk has been seen feeding in open spots next to dense vegetation. It builds a bowl nest of green grass on or near the ground, partly hidden, and lays three to seven creamy eggs blotched with red; incubation takes at least 23 to 25 days.

Guide sighting records list one site: Punta Moreno on Isabela, where a walk crosses a lava field with small brackish pools and mangroves. The guides rate the crake Rare there. Watch the edges of the vegetation near the pools, quietly, and be content with a brief glimpse.

The guide records list the crake at Punta Moreno in every month. Its breeding season varies widely across its range. In the next twelve months, 317 departures stop at the site.

No, it is listed as Least Concern. It has a very large range, but its population size and trend are unknown, and no immediate threats have been identified. Because it is so hard to see, experts say its status, distribution, movements and breeding still need investigation.

1. Playing calls. It does not respond to playback, and park rules ask visitors not to disturb wildlife.
2. Talking at the pools. A shy bird needs quiet.
3. Counting on a sighting. The one site in the guide records is rated Rare.