Black-banded Crake

The black-banded crake (Rufirallus fasciatus) is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The species was formerly placed in the genus Laterallus. == Taxonomy == The black-banded crake was formally described in 1868 by the English ornithologists Philip Sclater and Osbert Salvin based a specimen collected in eastern Peru. They placed the species in the genus Porzana and coined the binomial name Porzana fasciata. The closest relatives of the black-banded crake were uncertain and the species was variously placed in the genera Porzana, Laterallus and Anurolimnas. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2023 the black-banded crake is now placed with four other crakes in the genus Rufirallus that had been introduced in 1856 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The genus name combines the Latin rufus meaning "rufous" with the genus Rallus that had been introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for the rails. The specific epithet fasciatus is Late Latin meaning "banded", from Latin fascia meaning "band" or "stripe".. The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. == Description == The black-banded crake is 17 to…