Photo by Marysan
Imperial Beach, California, USA, December 2004
- Rallus longirostris
Identification
- 32-41 cm in length, male average 20% larger than female, northern birds larger than southern birds
- Upperside in many forms grayish-brown, to pale cinnamon in some birds of Colombia or dark brown in others. Feathers on the back have darker centers.
- Breast varies from bright chestnut to cinnamon to dusky gray to quite dark grey or even vinacious brown. Many subspecies have a dusky band across upper breast.
- Flanks in most subspecies are contrasting white bars with dusky or even black bars; some South American subspecies show bars of pale cinnamon on buff or pale grey on cream
- Noticeable white patch under tail in most subspecies, but undertail coverts barred with either black or grey in several others
- Bill is strong and long and curves slightly downwards
In especially the northern populations have been described some very dark individuals, either as result of different morphs, individual variation, or hybridization with King Rail.
Distribution
It is found along the east coast of North America, the coasts and some islands of the Caribbean, and across northern South America to eastern Brazil. On the Pacific coast, it breeds from central California through Mexico and again from Colombia to northwestern Peru.
Taxonomy
R. wetmorei, the Plain-flanked Rail, is now considered to be split from R. longirostris.
Clapper Rail and King Rail (R. elegans) are closely related and possibly hybridize where ranges overlap. The two species are sometimes considered conspecific. The status of the Pacific group of subspecies from California to Mexico (first four subspecies in the list) have varied: it has been considered a full species or a subspecies of either Clapper Rail or King Rail in the past. A recent abstract says that these are basal to both King Rail and Atlantic Clapper Rail, and as such are best treated as a full species. Opus is awaiting the position of the world-wide checklists.
Subspecies1
- R. l. obsoletus - Northern California (Humboldt Bay to Monterey Bay)
- R. l. levipes - Southern California (Santa Barbara) to Baja California (Scammons Lagoon)
- R. l. yumanensis - Salton Sea and Colorado River basin to western Mexico (Nayarit)
- R. l. beldingi - Western Mexico (southern Baja from Magdalena Bay to Espírito Santo Island)
- R. l. crepitans - Atlantic coast (Connecticut to north-eastern North Carolina)
- R. l. waynei - Coastal Atlantic salt marshes (south-eastern North Carolina to eastern Florida)
- R. l. saturatus - Gulf Coast (south-western Alabama to Texas and Tamaulipas)
- R. l. scotti - Coastal Florida (Pensacola to Cape Sable and Jupiter)
- R. l. insularum - Mangrove swamps of Florida Keys
- R. l. coryi - Mangrove swamps of Bahamas
- R. l. pallidus - Mangroves of south-eastern Mexico (coastal northern Yucatán Peninsula)
- R. l. grossi - South-eastern Mexico (islands on Chinchorro Bank off Quintana Roo)
- R. l. belizensis - Belize (Ycacos Lagoon)
- R. l. leucophaeus - Isle of Youth (Cuba)
- R. l. caribaeus - Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico to Antigua and northern Antilles
- R. l. cypereti - Coastal south-western Colombia to Ecuador (where rare) and just into north-western Peru (Tumbes)
- R. l. phelpsi - Extreme north-eastern coastal Colombia and extreme north-western Venezuela
- R. l. margaritae - Margarita Island (Venezuela)
- R. l. pelodramus - Trinidad
- R. l. longirostris - Coasts of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana
- R. l. crassirostris - Coastal eastern Brazil (Amazon estuary to Santa Catarina)
Habitat
Grassy marches and mangroves. When overlapping in range with King Rail (Gulf and Atlantic coasts), Clapper Rail normally are found in salt environs while King Rail is limited to freshwater ponds.
Behaviour
Diet
These birds eat crustaceans, aquatic insects and small fish. They search for food while walking, sometimes probing with their long bills, in shallow water or mud.
This bird is rarely seen flying, which is reflected in the many subspecies found across its range. However, the north east populations in the US are migratory, wintering more southerly along the Atlantic coast.
References
- Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
- Birdforum thread discussing the taxonomy of Clapper Rail
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Clapper Rail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Clapper_Rail
