[order] GRUIFORMES | [family] Rallidae | [latin] Laterallus melanophaius | [UK] Rufous-sided Crake | [FR] Rale brunoir | [DE] Rothals-Ralle | [ES] Polluela Burrito | [NL] Braziliaanse Dwergral Subspecies Monotypic species Genus Physical charateristics Neck, back and wings bronze-brown. Area around eyes grey. Ront of head and ear covers and side of breast chestnut. Romp […]
Category: Rallidae
Common Gallinule (Gallinula chloropus)
[order] GRUIFORMES | [family] Rallidae | [latin] Gallinula chloropus | [UK] Common Gallinule | [FR] Gallinule poule-d’eau | [DE] Teichhuhn | [ES] Gallereta Comun | [NL] Waterhoen Subspecies Monotypic species Genus Physical charateristics Medium-sized gallinule, with prominent bill and frontal shield and habit of constantly flirting tail, exhibiting white under tail-coverts. Looks essentially black at […]
Yellow-breasted Crake (Porzana flaviventer)
[order] GRUIFORMES | [family] Rallidae | [latin] Porzana flaviventer | [UK] Yellow-breasted Crake | [FR] Maroutte a sourcils blancs | [DE] Gelbbrust-Sumpfhuhn | [ES] Polluela Palida | [NL] Geelbuikporseleinhoen Subspecies Monotypic species Genus Physical charateristics Very small yellowish crake with long toes. Dark line through eye with a buff white supercilicium. White markings on upperparts […]
Grey-necked Wood-Rail (Aramides cajanea)
[order] GRUIFORMES | [family] Rallidae | [latin] Aramides cajanea | [UK] Grey-necked Wood-Rail | [FR] Rale de Cayenne | [DE] Cayenneralle | [ES] Cotara Chiricote (Arg, Py, Bo, Uy), Rascon cuelligris, Gallineta Cuello Gris (HN) | [NL] Cayenne-bosral Subspecies Monotypic species Genus Physical charateristics One of the larger Neotropical rails and the only Aramides with […]
Chatham Rail (Gallirallus modestus)
The story This species seems to provide a fairly typical example of the way in which rails develop on isolated islands. It is assumed that this is another form that has evolved from an ancestral stock resembling the Buff-banded Rail, but in this case the evolution was rather more advanced than in others. Following the […]
Dieffenbachs Rail (Gallirallus dieffenbachii)
The story The remote Chatham Islands lie way to the south of New Zealand and here, in isolation, two species seem to have developed from an ancestral stock that resembled the Buff-banded Rail. The less evolved of these is Dieffenbach’s Rail, and this form seems to have developed from a comparatively recent invasion of the […]
Ascension Rail (Atlantisea elpenor)
The story The evidence for the former existence of a small rail on Ascension Island is of two kinds. First, bones from a rail have been found on the island and, second, there exists a seventeenth century written account of just such a creature. This account was written by the much travelled Englishman Peter Mundy, […]
Hawaiian Crake (Porzana sandwichensis)
The story A small species of rail once inhabited the main island of Hawaii and perhaps some other Hawaiian islands. A handful of specimens exist in the museums of the world but these have in themselves caused some controversy. Two of them are rather paler in colour than the rest, giving rise to the idea […]
Laysan Crake (Porzana palmeri)
The story Laysan is a tiny coral island around 1280 km to the north-east of Hawaii, and one of its few inhabitants was a small species of rail. Because it is so remote, the island was infrequently visited but, nevertheless, there are several good accounts of the bird in life. These consistently tell of how […]
Mauritian Red Rail (Aphanapteryx bonasia)
The story Scattered among the seventeenth century written accounts and illustrations that relate to the celebrated Dodo are descriptions and pictures of a flightless bird of a rather different kind. These pictures show a creature that in overall shape and appearance looks something like a kiwi. A long, down-curved beak, rather hair-like plumage and stout […]