Dot-winged Crake

Porzana spiloptera

The dot-winged crake (Laterallus spiloptera) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. Despite its morphological similarities, the assignment to the genus Porzana is not correct. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA placed it in the predominantly South American clade Laterallus, and further analyses revealed that it is the sister species of the world's smallest flightless bird, the Inaccessible Island rail (Atlantisia rogersi). Stervander et al. (2019) proposed that the dot-winged crake should be referred to as Laterallus spilopterus.It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, and coastal saline lagoons. It is threatened by habitat loss.