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The species Guam Rail is extinct in the wild. |
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- Gallirallus owstoni
Identification
28 cm (11 in); Medium sized, (almost) flightless Rail with a sturdy bill, medium length legs and, for a rail, surprisingly small looking feet.
Forehead to upper tail coverts rich olive brown. Thin, but bold, greyish supercillia, lores and ear coverts as upperparts but somewhat more rufous. Chin, throat, sides of neck and upper breast soft, neutral grey. Rest of underparts black barred white. Wings olive-brown with black, barred white, remiges, tail almost non-existant (in field).
Bare parts :- Bill black, legs greyish pink, eyes red.
Distribution
Formerly on southern Mariana Islands (Guam), where it became extinct in the wild in 1987 due to the effects of the introduced Brown Tree Snake. Captive bred birds introduced onto Rota with varying amounts of success. Main threats on Rota are cats and roads.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Borders of forest and scrub. Always with water nearby.
Behaviour
Secretive, but does come out to feed in the early morning and late evening.
Diet
Their main diet consists of snails, slugs, insects and fish, with some larger prey such as geckos. They also eat some vegetable matter, including tomatoes, melons and palm leaves.
Vocalisation
Largely silent but gives a quiet "kyp" note when disturbed.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved February 2016)
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Guam Rail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Guam_Rail
