The paint-billed crake (Neocrex erythrops ) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae.
It is small, measuring 18 to 20 centimetres (7.1 to 7.9 in) on average. One was captured having a wingspan of around 200mm, a tarsus of 28mm and weighing in at 43 grams
The paint-billed crake is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. There is one record of the bird in the United States. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, and pastureland.
It is nocturnal, active primarily during the night, and does not respond to playback.
It builds its nest on the ground, under the protection of vegetation in grassy fields.The paint-bellied crake lays a clutch of three to seven eggs that are coloured creamy buff and have large, reddish blotches near the blunt end of the egg. The egg is incubated for a period of 24 days, with the parent sitting on the nest, thus camouflaging the nest.
