SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 
145 
a ball of grasses or a semi- domed cup without 
leaf masses (Ripley and Beehler 1985, Taylor 
1996). Our observations of the nest structure of 
the Chestnut-headed Crake suggest a closer 
relationship of this species with Aramides and 
Amurolimnas than with the Russet-crowned or 
Black-banded crakes. 
Previous information concerning Chestnut- 
headed Crakes in the Neotropics reports birds in 
breeding condition in June (Colombia) and nearly 
grown young in June (Bolivia) (Hilty and Brown 
1986, Taylor 1996). One of our nests coincides 
with a probable breeding period in June within the 
end of the wet season in the Ecuadorian Amazon. 
We observed and photographed a nestling, 
presumably of a Grey-breasted Crake (Latercillus 
exilis ) in a nearby locality in July, suggesting that 
breeding activity of rallids may occur between 
May and July in Ecuadorian lowlands, during the 
rainless period. The breeding season of the 
Chestnut-headed Crake appears to not be con¬ 
strained to a short period and it is possible this 
species is an opportunistic breeder, nesting 
whenever appropriate conditions exist. This is 
suggested by the different dates of the two nests 
we discovered with eggs. Higher breeding activity 
in northeastern Ecuador has been reported during 
the months of August to September, although 
nests have been reported throughout the year for a 
large variety of avian species (Greeney et al. 
2004. Greeney and Gelis 2008). We suggest this 
topic requires further study because there are few 
data available concerning breeding season of birds 
in Ecuadorian Amazonia. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
We are grateful to Hugo Navarrete for inviting us to be 
Part of the team of the Scientific Biodiversity Assessment 
tor the Villano Project performed by the Pontificia 
Universidad Catolica del Ecuador. This study was funded 
by Eni E&P Division and Agip Oil Ecuador and has been 
conducted with the participation of Fauna & Flora 
International. Any comments, interpretations or conclusions 
ln this study are those of the authors, and are not necessarily 
agreed with or supported by Agip Oil Ecuador or Eni E&P 
hi vision. Our research near the Lliquino and Villano rivers 
authorized by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment, 
Permit # 010-1C-FAU/FLO-DREN-P/MA. We also ac¬ 
knowledge Victor Navarrete and Marco Benalcazar for 
logistic support. Christian Borja and Augusto Sola assisted 
tinring fieldwork. We thank Luis Carrasco, who shared the 
unpublished observations concerning nests of Aramides 
Wol fi- Corrections that improved the manuscript were 
provided by Juan Fernando Freile, Diego Lombeida, 
Gifford Keil, and two anonymous referees. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Carrasco, L. and J. Mena. 2008. Conservacion de 
Aramides wolfi en el Choco ecuatoriano. Informe 
Tecnico de medio termino. Programa Becas Fernando 
Ortiz-Crespo. Fundacion Ecociencia, Quito, Ecuador. 
Di Giacomo, A. and S. F. Krapovickas. 2005. Aves de la 
Reserva El Bagual. Temas de Naturaleza y Conservacion 
4:201—465. 
Greeney, H. and R. Gelis. 2008. Further breeding records 
from the Ecuadorian Amazonian lowlands. Cotinga 
29:62-68. 
Greeney, H., R. Gelis, and R. White. 2004. Notes on 
breeding birds from an Ecuadorian lowland forest. 
Bulletin of the British Ornithological Club 124:28-37. 
Greeney, H. F., R. C. Dobbs, P. R. Martin, and R. A. Gelis. 
2008. The breeding biology of Grallaria and Grallar- 
icula antpittas. Journal of Field Ornithology 79:113-129. 
Hilty, S. L. and W. Brown. 1986. A field guide to the 
birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, Prince¬ 
ton, New Jersey, USA. 
INAMHI. 2006. Anuario Meteorologico Instituto Nacional 
de Meteorologfa e Hidrografia. Quito, Ecuador. 
Monterrubio-Rico, T. and P. Escalante-Pliego. 2006. 
Richness, distribution and conservation status of cavity 
nesting birds in Mexico. Biological Conservation 118: 
67-78. 
Remsen Jr., J. V., C. D. Cadena, A. Jaramillo, M. Nores, 
J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, T. S. Schulenberg, 
F. G. Stiles, J. M. C. da Silva, D. F. Stotz, and K. J. 
Zimmer. 2008. A classification of the bird species of 
South America. American Ornithologists’ Union, http:// 
www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html. 
Ridgely. R. S. and P. Greenfield. 2001. The birds of Ec¬ 
uador. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 
Ripley, S. D. and B. M. Beehler. 1985. Rails of the world, 
a compilation of new information, 1975-1983 (Aves: 
Rallidae). Smithsonian Contribution of Zoology 417: 
1-28. 
Sierra, R. (Editor). 1999. Propuesta preliminar de un 
sistema de clasificacion de vegetacion para el Ecuador 
Continental. Proyecto INEFAN/GEF-BIRF, ECO¬ 
CIENCIA. Quito, Ecuador. 
Smithe, F. B. 1975. Naturalist’s color guide. American 
Museum of Natural History. New York, USA. 
Stiles, F. G. 1981. Notes on Uniform Crake in Costa Rica. 
Wilson Bulletin 93:107-108. 
Taylor, P. B. 1996. Family Rallidae (Rails, crakes, and 
gallinules). Pages 108-209 in Handbook of the birds of the 
world. Volume 3. Hoatzin to auks (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, 
and J. Sargatal, Editors). Lynx Editions, Barcelona, Spain. 
Tobias, J. and N. Seddon. 2007. Nine bird species new to 
Bolivia and notes on other significant records. Bulletin 
of the British Ornithological Club 127:49-84. 
Vaca, J. F.. H. F. Greeney, R. A. Gelis, C. Dingle, N. 
Krabbe, and M. Tidwell. 2006. The nest and eggs of 
Red-winged Wood-Rail Aramides calopterus in the 
foothills of north-east Ecuador. Cotinga 26:13-14. 
Zyskowski, K. and R. Prlim. 1999. Phylogenetic analysis 
of the nest architecture of neotropical ovenbirds 
(Fumariidae). Auk 116:891-911. 
