Rails : a guide to the rails, crakes, gallinules and coots of the world

This is a guide to rails, a relatively homogenous family of birds spread throughout the world. Most species are solitary and somewhat secretive, and therefore high on the wanted lists of many birders, but the moorhens and coots are generally common and familiar birds of wetlands. A number of species are flightless and confined to small islands, and several are extinct as a result of man and introduced predators. Cover CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LAYOUT AND SCOPE OF THE BOOK TOPOGRAPHY PHYLOGENY AND CLASSIFICATION MORPHOLOGY AND FLIGHTLESSNESS HABITAT FOOD AND FORAGING VOICE BEHAVIOUR BREEDING MOVEMENTS CONSERVATION AND EXTINCTION COLOUR PLATES SYSTEMATIC SECTION White-spotted Flufftail: Sarothrura pulchra Buff-spotted Flufftail: Sarothrura elegans Red-chested Flufftail: Sarothrura rufa Chestnut-headed Flufftail: Sarothrura lugens Streaky-breasted Flufftail: Sarothrura boehmi Striped Flufftail: Sarothrura affinis Madagascar Flufftail: Sarothrura insularis White-winged Flufftail: Sarothrura ayresi Slender-billed Flufftail: Sarothrura watersi Nkulengu Rail: Himantornis haematopus Grey-throated Rail: Canirallus oculeus Madagascar Wood-rail: Canirallus kioloides Swinhoe’s Rail: Coturnicops exquisitus Yellow Rail: Coturnicops noveboracensis Speckled Rail: Coturnicops notatus Ocellated Crake: Micropygia schomburgkii Chestnut Forest-rail: Rallina rubra White-striped Forest-rail: Rallina leucospila Forbes’s Forest-rail: Rallina forbesi Mayr’s Forest-rail: Rallina mayri Red-necked Crake: Rallina tricolor Andaman Crake: Rallina canningi Red-legged Crake: Rallina fasciata Slaty-legged Crake: Rallina eurizonoides Chestnut-headed Crake: Anurolimnas castaneiceps Russet-crowned Crake: Anurolimnas viridis Black-banded Crake: Anurolimnas fasciatus Rufous-sided Crake: Laterallus melanophaius Rusty-flanked Crake: Laterallus levraudi Ruddy Crake: Laterallus ruber White-throated Crake: Laterallus albigularis Grey-breasted Crake: Laterallus exilis Black Rail: Laterallus jamaicensis Galapagos Rail: Laterallus spilonotus Red-and-white Crake: Laterallus leucopyrrhus Rufous-faced Crake: Laterallus xenopterus Woodford’s Rail: Nesoclopeus woodfordi Bar-winged Rail: Nesoclopeus poecilopterus Weka: Gallirallus australis New Caledonian Rail: Gallirallus lafresnayanus Lord Howe Rail: Gallirallus sylvestris Gilbert Rail: Gallirallus conditicius Okinawa Rail: Gallirallus okinawae Barred Rail: Gallirallus torquatus New Britain Rail: Gallirallus insignis Buff-banded Rail: Gallirallus philippensis Roviana Rail: Gallirallus rovianae Guam Rail: Gallirallus owstoni Wake Rail: Gallirallus wakensis Tahiti Rail: Gallirallus pacificus Dieffenbach’s Rail: Gallirallus dieffenbachii Chatham Rail: Gallirallus modestus Sharpe’s Rail: Gallirallus sharpei Slaty-breasted Rail: Gallirallus striatus Clapper Rail: Rallus longirostris King Rail: Rallus elegans Plain-flanked Rail: Rallus wetmorei Virginia Rail: Rallus limicola Bogotá Rail: Rallus semiplumbeus Austral Rail: Rallus antarcticus Water Rail: Rallus aquaticus African Rail: Rallus caerulescens Madagascar Rail: Rallus madagascariensis Brown-banded Rail: Lewinia mirificus Lewin’s Rail: Lewinia pectoralis Auckland Rail: Lewinia muelleri White-throated Rail: Dryolimnas cuvieri African Crake: Crex egregia Corncrake: Crex crex Rouget’s Rail: Rougetius rougetii Snoring Rail: Aramidopsis plateni Inaccessible Rail: Atlantisia rogersi Little Wood-rail: Aramides mangle Rufous-necked Wood-rail: Aramides axillaris Grey-necked Wood-rail: Aramides cajanea Brown Wood-rail: Aramides wolfi Giant Wood-rail: Aramides ypecaha Slaty-breasted Wood-rail: Aramides saracura Red-winged Wood-rail: Aramides calopterus Uniform Crake: Amaurolimnas concolor Bald-faced Rail: Gymnocrex rosenbergii Bare-eyed Rail: Gymnocrex plumbeiventris Talaud Rail: Gymnocrex talaudensis Brown Crake: Amaurornis akool Isabelline Bush-hen: Amaurornis isabellinus Plain Bush-hen: Amaurornis olivaceus Rufous-tailed Bush-hen: Amaurornis moluccanus Talaud Bush-hen: Amaurornis magnirostris White-breasted Waterhen: Amaurornis phoenicurus Black Crake: Amaurornis flavirostris Sakalava Rail: Amaurornis olivieri Black-tailed Crake: Amaurornis bicolor Little Crake: Porzana parva Baillon’s Crake: Porzana pusilla Laysan Crake: Porzana palmeri Spotted Crake: Porzana porzana Australian Crake: Porzana fluminea Sora: Porzana carolina Dot-winged Crake: Porzana spiloptera Ash-throated Crake: Porzana albicollis Hawaiian Crake: Porzana sandwichensis Ruddy-breasted Crake: Porzana fusca Band-bellied Crake: Porzana paykullii Spotless Crake: Porzana tabuensis Kosrae Crake: Porzana monasa Henderson Crake: Porzana atra Yellow-breasted Crake: Porzana flaviventer White-browed Crake: Porzana cinerea Striped Crake: Aenigmatolimnas marginalis Zapata Rail: Cyanolimnas cerverai Colombian Crake: Neocrex colombianus Paint-billed Crake: Neocrex erythrops Spotted Rail: Pardirallus maculatus Blackish Rail: Pardirallus nigricans Plumbeous Rail: Pardirallus sanguinolentus Chestnut Rail: Eulabeornis castaneoventris Invisible Rail: Habroptila wallacii New Guinea Flightless Rail: Megacrex inepta Watercock: Gallicrex cinerea Purple Swamphen: Porphyrio porphyrio White Gallinule: Porphyrio albus Takahe: Porphyrio mantelli Allen’s Gallinule: Porphyrio alleni American Purple Gallinule: Porphyrio martinica Azure Gallinule: Porphyrio flavirostris Samoan Moorhen: Gallinula pacifica San Cristobal Moorhen: Gallinula silvestris Tristan Moorhen: Gallinula nesiotis Common Moorhen: Gallinula chloropus Dusky Moorhen: Gallinula tenebrosa Lesser Moorhen: Gallinula angulata Spot-flanked Gallinule: Gallinula melanops Black-tailed Native-hen: Gallinula ventralis Tasmanian Native-hen: Gallinula mortierii Red-knobbed Coot: Fulica cristata Common Coot: Fulica atra Hawaiian Coot: Fulica alai American Coot: Fulica americana Caribbean Coot: Fulica caribaea White-winged Coot: Fulica leucoptera Andean Coot: Fulica ardesiaca Red-gartered Coot: Fulica armillata Red-fronted Coot: Fulica rufifrons Giant Coot: Fulica gigantea Horned Coot: Fulica cornuta BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX OF SCIENTIFIC AND ENGLISH NAMES A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y Z This is a guide to rails, a relatively homogeneous family of birds spread throughout the world. Barry Taylor and Ber van Perlo have described and illustrated 145 species of rails, including two that are newly described, and also ten that are recently extinct and two that are almost certainly extinct. The book, based on up-to-date references and on new observations, is the first to give comprehensive information on field identification (including voice), covering all species and races for which details are known.It is also the first to provide descriptions of the immature and juvenile plumages of many species. The authors provide a detailed summary of current knowledge of all aspects of rail biology and their often complex behaviour, social structure, and family life. They explain how such apparently poorly flying birds can undertake intercontinental migrations and are such widespread and successful colonists of remote oceanic islands.They also discuss the remarkable ease and speed with which species on such islands have evolved into flightless forms in the absence of predators, a fact that has led to the rapid extinction of numerous island taxa following the arrival of man. Rail habitats are fast disappearing, say the authors, and many rails become endangered before enough is known about them to plan effective conservation measures.The book provides information on distribution, status, habitat requirements, and current threats, and it gives conservation priorities for threatened species.