Aztec Rail

Aztec Rail (Rallus tenuirostris), COHUIX-IN

“It is a waterfowl. It is called couixin because when it speaks it says couix, couix. It is quite small; it is a little larger than a [“paloma”] …. Its bill is chilired, black at the end, small and cylindrical. Its back, its wings, its tail are all like quail feathers; its breast alone is tawny. It legs are chalky, very long…. is bird also rears its young here; it also comes and it also goes" (FC, p. 34).

Audio recording by Anuar López. From the Macauley Library ML432093161. Photo by Paula Catrell.

Cf. page 52 in The Aztec Fascination with Birds monograph.

References Cited
Quoted material from the Florentine Codex (FC): Reprinted from Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain, Book 11, Earthly Things¸ by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, translated by Arthur J.O. Anderson, and Charles E. Dibble with permission from School for American Research, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Copyright 1981.