A small rail, 19 to 23 cm. Its plumage has a chestnut back, a gray head with a dark frontal shield, a grayish breast and white-spotted flanks that give it the "painted" or spotted look that names the species. The bill is greenish and the legs yellowish-green. It lives in reedbeds, cattail stands and lagoon edges with emergent vegetation. More visible than the crakes but just as nervous.
Behaviour
An omnivore of the wetlands: the seeds of reeds and water hyacinths, aquatic insects and small invertebrates. It periodically pokes its head out of the dense vegetation to survey its surroundings, which creates good opportunities to photograph it.
How and when to see it
Year round. Best observed at dawn and dusk at the edges of the rush beds. Portals Laguna Iberá, Galarza and Uguay.
Where to see it in the Iberá
The gateways of the Great Iberá Park where spot-flanked gallinule has confirmed presence:
Tours to see it
Verified providers operating at the gateways where spot-flanked gallinule lives. You contact them directly on WhatsApp from the app.
- Esteros Ñe’é
Experiencias con relato local y mirada cultural sobre los esteros.★ 5.0 - Gaucho Argentino
Travesías a caballo por una red de refugios en el Iberá. Cabalgatas de varios días con…★ 5.0 - Irupé Excursiones
Senderismo guiado. Visita guiada a museos, lugares históricos, capillas y senderos del…★ 5.0 - Salvaje Iberá
Senderismo, cicloturismo, safari fotográfico, avistaje de fauna, paseos largos en el día…★ 5.0
Species profile
- Common nameSpot-flanked Gallinule
- Scientific namePorphyriops melanops
- GroupBird
- StatusNative
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