Chestnut rail

Chestnut rail
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Rallidae
Genus: Gallirallus
Species:
G. castaneoventris
Binomial name
Gallirallus castaneoventris
Gould, 1844
Synonyms

Eulabeornis castaneoventris

The chestnut rail (Gallirallus castaneoventris) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is the largest rail in its habitat, and has two color morphs.

Taxonomy

The chestnut rail was formerly placed in the genus Eulabeornis.

It has two described subspecies, G. c. sharpei of the Aru Islands, and G. c. castaneoventris of northern Australia.

Description

The chestnut rail is the largest rail in its habitat. The sexes are similar but males are larger than females, with the male being 52 cm (20 in) long and weighing 626–910 g (1.38–2.01 lb) while the female weighs 550–710 g (1.21–1.57 lb). It has a long tail, greenish bill, and pale yellow or green legs. The underparts are a pinkish-brown color, varying in brightness. In the olive color morph, the upperparts are more olive-brown colored while in the chestnut color morph they are a dark brown.

Behavior

The chestnut rail mainly feeds on crustaceans, but will also consume small molluscs, insects, and centipedes.

Their nests are shaped into platforms and range in size from 35–50 cm in diameter, and 5–10 cm in depth. They are built in mangrove trees out of predominantly mangrove sticks, along with some leaves and seedlings. Clutch size ranges from 2–5 eggs per brood. In dimensions, three eggs of one clutch were about 53 mm × 35 mm (2.1 in × 1.4 in) while one egg from a different clutch was 46 mm × 35 mm (1.8 in × 1.4 in). The chicks are a dark brown and leave the nest soon after hatching.

Early illustration by Broinowski

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Eulabeornis castaneoventris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T22692778A93369138. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692778A93369138.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Gould, John (1844). "Exhibition of a Series of Birds from Australia, Collected by Mr. Gilbert and Himself". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 12 (March 26): 55–58 – via Biodiversity heritage library.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Barry (2020). "Chestnut Rail (Gallirallus castaneoventris), version 1.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.cherai1.01. ISSN 2771-3105.
  4. ↑ Barnes, Terry A.; Franklin, Donald C (1997). "Notes on the Nests of the Chestnut Rail". Northern Territory Naturalist. 15: 6–11 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.