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 […]
Category: Rallidae
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 […]
Samoan Moorhen (Gallinula pacifica)
The story There seem to be eleven specimens of this species in the world’s museums, the first collected during 1869 and the last perhaps a mere five years later. Since then the species has never more been located. Little is known of it other than that it inhabited the Samoan island of Savaii. It was […]
Wake Rail (Gallirallus wakensis)
The story The Wake Rail has acquired the grim celebrity of having been eaten out of existence by hungry Japanese soldiers during World War II. Unable to fly, these rails could scuttle about their island home quickly, but despite their agility any efforts to escape would have been no match for the concerted efforts of […]
White Gallinule (Porphyrio albus)
The story When British ships belonging to what was known as the First Fleet were dispatched under Governor Phillip to Australia during the late 1780’s, their task was to found a penal colony to which British felons could be transported. Much of interest surrounds this rather unpleasant endeavour and one of the by-products of the […]
King Rail (Rallus elegans)
[order] GRUIFORMES | [family] Rallidae | [latin] Rallus elegans | [UK] King Rail | [FR] Rascon real | [DE] Konigs-Wasserlaufer | [ES] Rascon Elegante | [NL] Subspecies Genus Species subspecies Breeding Range Breeding Range 2 Non Breeding Range Rallus elegans NA, MA e, c Rallus elegans elegans e Canada, ne USA Rallus elegans ramsdeni Cuba […]
Little Crake (Porzana parva)
[order] GRUIFORMES | [family] Rallidae | [latin] Porzana parva | [UK] Little Crake | [FR] Marouette poussin | [DE] Kleines Sumpfhuhn | [ES] Polluela Bastarda | [NL] Klein Waterhoen Subspecies Monotypic species Physical charateristics Marked sexual dimorphism in plumage. Male has blue-grey face and underparts, with narrow white bars on rear flanks and black and […]
Purple Swamp-hen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
[order] GRUIFORMES | [family] Rallidae | [latin] Porphyrio porphyrio | [UK] Purple Swamp-hen | [FR] Taleve sultane | [DE] Purpurhuhn | [ES] Calamon comun | [NL] Purperkoet Subspecies Genus Species subspecies Breeding Range Breeding Range 2 Non Breeding Range Physical charateristics Very large ponderous rail, much larger than all other congeners except flightless Takahe in […]
Crested Coot (Fulica cristata)
[order] GRUIFORMES | [family] Rallidae | [latin] Fulica cristata | [UK] Crested Coot | [FR] Foulque a crete | [DE] Kammblasshuhn | [ES] Focha cornuda | [NL] Knobbelmeerkoet Subspecies Genus Species subspecies Breeding Range Breeding Range 2 Non Breeding Range Physical charateristics Only slightly bulkier than Coot but with wings and often neck c. 10% […]
Sora (Porzana carolina)
[order] GRUIFORMES | [family] Rallidae | [latin] Porzana carolina | [UK] Sora | [FR] Marouette de Caroline | [DE] Carolina-Sumpfhuhn | [ES] Polluela Sora | [NL] Sora-ral Subspecies Monotypic species Physical charateristics In its breeding plumage, the sora’s throat and face are black, with a short, yellowish bill. The breast and nape of neck are […]