Habitat: The Clapper rail will favor freshwater pond, grassy margins and other water sources. Distribution: This species has been reported from United States to Mexico, Belize and the West Indies. It is also found in South America to northwestern Peru and eastern Brazil. Natural History Notes: The Clapper Rail has a fairly large range, but the number of individuals has decreased recently due to extensive destruction of the coastal marshland habitat. This bird rarely flies and can be found walking in the water and feeding on crustaceans and insects. Conservation status according to IUCN 2008 Red list: Least Concern (LC). Characteristics: The total length of this species is 14 inches (measured from tip of bill to end of tail). This bird has fairly long and slightly decurved bill with a black coloration above and a yellow-orange coloration above. The legs are brown. We can distinguish a black crown with some gray around the eyes. Otherwise, the plumage is mostly stripped with black and olive on the above and rufous wing coverts. The throat is white, the breast is rufous-reddish and the belly is whitish. The flanks show some black bands.