Alternative names: Madagascar Wood Rail; Kioloides Rail
- Mentocrex kioloides
Canirallus kioloides
Identification
28 cm (11 in)
- Olive-brown upperparts
- Cinnamon-rufous underparts
Variation
Head of subspecies kioloides has crown and upper sides of head medium gray contrasting with cinnamon-rufous that is limited to below the eye. Subspecies berliozi is similar except that the gray is paler and contrasts even more with both lower sides of head and back.
Similar Species
White-throated Rail
Tsingy Forest Rail is larger and the cinnamon-rufous extends to the eye.
Distribution
Taxonomy
This species was formerly placed in genus Canirallus.
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- M. k. kioloides:
- Humid rainforests of eastern and high plateau of Madagascar
- M. k. berliozi:
- Locally in north western Madagascar (Sambirano district)
Habitat
Usually in primary evergreen forest areas (near water), more rarely in Dry Deciduous forest.
Behaviour
Diet
Their main diet consists of insects, amphibians and seeds. They are usually seen foraging in pairs.
Breeding
They construct the nest, which is a bowl formed from grass and leaves and place it about 2–3 m above ground in bush or creepers. Their clutch contains 2 eggs.
Vocalisation
Call: loud; a series of piercing whistles.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Taylor, B. (2020). Madagascar Wood-Rail (Mentrocrex kioloides), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.madwor1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Madagascar Forest Rail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Madagascar_Forest_Rail
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
