Rufous-naped wood rail

A. a. plumbeicollis displaying wing and head colouration

The rufous-naped wood rail measures 38 cm (15 in) long and weighs 460 g (16 oz). The upperparts are olive green to dark brown. The head and neck are medium-grey, blending into a brown patch at the back of the head. The eyes are red. The chest and flanks are rufous. The belly, rump and tail are black. Legs are coral-red. Males and females are similar. Immatures are similar to adults but belly sooty-black, flecked with buff. It used to be considered a subspecies of the grey-necked wood rail.

• A. a. mexicanus — Bangs, 1907 — in southern Mexico
• A. a. albiventris — Lawrence, 1867 — from the Yucatán to Belize and into northern Guatemala
• A. a. vanrossemi — Dickey, 1929 — from Oaxaca (southern Mexico) to southern Guatemala and El Salvador
• A. a. pacificus — A. H. Miller & Griscom, 1921 — on the Caribbean slope of Honduras and Nicaragua
• A. a. plumbeicollis — Zeledon, 1888 — in north-east Costa Rica

The rufous-naped wood rail is found in from southern Mexico to Nicaragua. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and subtropical or tropical swamps.

• Marcondes, R.S., and L.F. Silveira. 2015. A taxonomic review of Aramides cajaneus (Aves, Gruiformes, Rallidae) with notes on morphological variation in other species of the genus. ZooKeys 500: 111–140.