Calayan Rail

Calayan Rail

Taxobox
name = Calayan Rail
status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = stable


image_width = 200px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Gruiformes
familia = Rallidae
genus = "Gallirallus"
species = "G. calayanensis"
binomial = "Gallirallus calayanensis"
binomial_authority = D. Allen, C. Oliveros, C. Espanola
G. Broad & J. C. T. Gonzalez, 2004The Calayan Rail ("Gallirallus calayanensis") is a flightless bird of the rail, moorhen, and coot family (Rallidae) that inhabits Calayan Island in the Philippines. Though well-known to natives of the island as the "piding", it was first observed by ornithologist Carmela Española in May 2004 and the discovery officially announced on August 16, 2004. The formal description as a species new to science appeared in the journal Forktail (Allen "et al." 2004).

The Calayan Rail is one of the 20 known extant flightless rails. It is small and dark brown, with a distinctive orange-red bill and legs, and utters loud, harsh calls. Its habitat seems to be restricted to forests on coralline limestone areas on Calayan and extends to a total of less than 100km². Biologists estimate that there may be 200 pairs on the island.

The Calayan Rail's genus, "Gallirallus", includes many species of Southwest Pacific islands, of which the most familiar in the English-speaking world is the Weka of New Zealand. Its species name was derived from the name of the island.

Due to its recent discovery, little further information on this species is available at this time.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable

* Allen, Desmond, Carl Oliveros, Carmela Espaňola, Genevieve Broad and Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez (2004) A new species of "Gallirallus" from Calayan island, Philippines Forktail Vol. 20 pp. 1-7

External links

* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=31539&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet.]
* [http://www.birdlife.net/news/pr/2004/08/calayan_rail.html Birdlife International press release]
* [http://www.worldwildlife.org/challenges/efn_discovery.cfm WWF's role in the discovery]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Calayan rail — noun a flightless bird (Gallirallus calayanensis) from the family Rallidae that inhabits Calayan Island in the Philippines …   Wiktionary

  • Calayan, Cagayan — Calayan is an island and 4th class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. It is one of the Babuyan Islands in the Luzon Strait north of Luzon island. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 14,309 people in 2,654… …   Wikipedia

  • Calayan-Ralle — Systematik Unterstamm: Wirbeltiere (Vertebrata) Klasse: Vögel (Aves) Ordnung: Kranichvögel (Gruiformes) Familie …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Invisible Rail — Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Okinawa Rail — Conservation status Endangered (IUCN 3.1) …   Wikipedia

  • Gallirallus — Taxobox | name = Gallirallus image width = 240px image caption = Weka, Gallirallus australis regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Gruiformes familia = Rallidae genus = Gallirallus genus authority = Lafresnaye, 1841… …   Wikipedia

  • Bird species new to science described in the 2000s — See also parent article Bird species new to science This page details the bird species described as new to science in the years 2000 to 2009:ummary statisticsNumber of species described per yearCountries with high numbers of newly described… …   Wikipedia

  • Flightless bird — Penguins are a well known example of flightless birds Flightless birds are birds which lack the ability to fly, relying instead on their ability to run or swim. They are thought to have evolved from flying ancestors.[1] There are about forty… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Asian birds — This list of Asian birds is a listing of all the bird species known from the continent of Asia.NotesThe taxonomy of this list adheres to James Clements Birds of the World: A Checklist , and reflects all changes to that work until July, 2005.… …   Wikipedia

  • List of birds of the Philippines — This is a list of the bird species recorded in the Philippines. The avifauna of the Philippines includes a total of 612 species, of which 194 are endemic, 3 have been introduced by humans, and 52 are rare or accidental. 67 species are globally… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”