| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | AVES | GRUIFORMES | RALLIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Laterallus jamaicensis | |||
| Species Authority: | (Gmelin, 1789) | |||
Common Name/s:
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| Red List Category & Criteria: | Near Threatened ver 3.1 | |||||||||
| Year Published: | 2008 | |||||||||
| Assessor/s: | BirdLife International | |||||||||
| Reviewer/s: | Bird, J., Butchart, S. | |||||||||
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Justification: This poorly known species is believed to be declining at a moderately rapid rate and consequently it is classified as Near Threatened. |
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| History: |
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| Range Description: | Laterallus jamaicensis is widespread, but very local, in fresh and saline marshes, wet meadows and savanna in North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. The nominate race occurs on the east coast of USA, with sporadic records inland to Colorado and Minnesota (but no confirmed nesting since 1932). It is very local in north-east Mexico, Belize, Guatemala (only in 1903), Costa Rica, Panama (only in 1963), with an unconfirmed report from Honduras. It is locally rare in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, but mainly a winter visitor on Jamaica and Cuba. It was probably extirpated as a breeder from Puerto Rico (to USA) by introduced mongooses, and is now extremely rare in winter. It is recorded as a non-breeder in the Virgin Islands (to USA). There is one recent record from north Brazil. The race coturniculus is very local in south-west USA, irregularly to north-west Mexico (one recent record). The race murivagans occurs at few coastal marshes in central Peru. The race salinasi is rare and local in south Peru to central Chile and adjacent parts of west-central Argentina. It may occur (doubtful race pygmaeus) in the Colombian East Andes. In USA, most populations declined drastically in the 20th century, and the breeding range seriously contracted. |
| Countries: |
Native:
Argentina; Belize; Brazil; Chile; Costa Rica; Cuba; Dominican Republic; Haiti; Jamaica; Mexico; Panama; Peru; Puerto Rico; United States; Virgin Islands, U.S.
Vagrant:
Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Bermuda
Present - origin uncertain:
Colombia
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| Range Map: | Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
| Population: | 25,000-100,000 jamaicensis (unpublished report 'Waterbird Conservation for the Americas 2001' cited in Wetlands International 2002); plus <10,000 coturniculus (Eddleman et al. 1994). |
| Population Trend: |
Decreasing
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| Habitat and Ecology: | It inhabits fresh and saline marshes, wet meadows and savanna. It occupies marshes with shallower water than other rallids and requires some tall vegetation to escape into. Feeds on terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates. |
| Systems: | Freshwater |
| Major Threat(s): | Continued massive degradation of wetlands habitats give cause for concern. In parts of its range it is threatened by pollution, drought, wildfires, groundwater removal, changing water levels, grazing and agricultural expansion1,2. |
| Conservation Actions: |
Conservation Actions Underway It occurs in a number of protected areas but no specific conservation actions are known. Conservation Actions Proposed Conserve wetland habitats within its range. Manage retreat at coastal sites so they continue to support the species in the face of sea level rise and increased storm frequency. Protect threatened sub-populations. Develop and introduce methods for monitoring population changes over time. |
| Citation: | BirdLife International 2008. Laterallus jamaicensis. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2012. |
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