This bird's large extent of occurrence along with its population is why it is considered to be least-concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The chest and flanks are a rufous colour, with the belly, rump, and tail being black.

During the breeding season, which usually lasts from March to August, the grey-cowled wood rail builds nests that can be found on flat branches and in thickets, usually at heights between 1 and 3 metres (3 and 10 ft).

Placed in the family Rallidae—the rails—this species was originally described as Fulica Cajanea by Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller, in his 1776 Vollständiges Natursystem.

[2] Müller based his description on the illustration "Poule d’Eau de Cayenne" (Cayenne's water hen) by French naturalist and artist Edme-Louis Daubenton in his Planches Enlumineés d’Histoire Naturelle.

[3] It was eventually moved to the new genus Aramides, the wood rails, by Jacques Pucheran in 1845,[4] and the specific epithet was changed to cajaneus.

The specific epithet, cajaneus, is in reference to the capital city of French Guiana, Cayenne.

[9] Juvenile birds are similar to the adult but are duller in colour, with their belly sooty-black and flecked with buff.

[11] The grey-cowled wood rail is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

[1] The nominate subspecies is cut off by the Andes Mountains and lives east of the range in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; it is not found in the southeastern interior of Brazil.

The subspecies avicenniae is found in coastal southeastern Brazil, around São Paulo.

The grey-cowled wood rail rarely flies, although when it is flushed out, it will generally move to a branch close to the ground.

[12] The grey-cowled wood rail's nests are situated in trees and bushes, usually 1 to 3 metres (3.3 to 9.8 ft) off the ground, built on flat branches or in thickets and lined with twigs and leaves.

[10] Its breeding season usually occurs between March and August, although this varies depending on geography.

Otherwise, it will generally feed on molluscs (such as snails, including Pomacea flagellata),[15] arthropods, frogs, seeds, grains, leaves,[16] berries, palm fruits, and the occasional water snake.

Maize, rice, and bananas are also viable food items for the grey-necked wood rail.

[10] It uses its partially open bill to probe and move aside debris like leaf litter.

[13] Even so, it has occasionally been seen to openly forage in short grass near thickets and in streams or muddy tracks.

[20] They are usually hunted with baited fish hooks that are laid near the bodies of water where these birds forage.

[22] Although it is generally cautious, it can tolerate an approach by humans up to about 10 metres (33 ft) away from it, after which it will retreat into the undergrowth.