Buff-banded Rail
Gallirallus philippensis
Small and sneaky rail. Barred belly with a smudged orange-buff chest band. Reddish head with strong pale eyebrow. Makes a loud squeaking call. Usually sticks to dense cover near water, occasionally strutting around the edges or crossing paths. On small islands (e.g. Green Island, Lord Howe Island, Lady Elliot Island) it is extremely tame and abundant.
Identification
It is a largely terrestrial bird the size of a small domestic chicken, with mainly brown upperparts, finely banded black and white underparts, a white eyebrow, chestnut band running from the bill round the nape, with a buff band on the breast. It utilises a range of moist or wetland habitats with low, dense vegetation for cover. It is usually quite shy but may become very tame and bold in some circumstances, such as in island resorts within the Great Barrier Reef region.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson described and illustrated the buff-banded rail in his multi-volume Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in the Philippines. He used the French name Le rasle rayé des Philippines and the Latin name Rallus Philippensis Striatus. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson in his Ornithologie. One of these was the buff-banded rail. Linnaeus included a terse description, coined the binomial name Rallus philippensis and cited Brisson's work. The buff-banded rail was formerly placed in the genus Gallirallus but is now placed in the genus Hypotaenidia that was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach.<p>Numerous subspecies are recognised for the buff-banded rail because of repeated dispersion of birds to islands in the Pacific, often followed by founder effects and reduced potential for gene flow. The weka in New Zealand evolved from a lineage with common ancestry to modern buff-tailed banded rail populations, and has changed over time to become flightless.<p>Twenty subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Gallirallus philippensis
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Gallirallus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The buff-banded rail is an omnivorous scavenger which feeds on a range of terrestrial invertebrates and small vertebrates, seeds, fallen fruit and other vegetable matter, as well as carrion and refuse. Its nest is usually situated in dense grassy or reedy vegetation close to water, with a clutch size of 3–4. Although some island populations may be threatened, or even exterminated, by introduced predators, the species as a whole appears to be safe and its conservation status is considered to be of Least Concern.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Undulated Antshrike
Frederickena unduliger
Magnificent dark antshrike of mature upland rainforest. Has a large head with a crest and strongly hooked bill. Males are slaty gray with fine black barring; females are tawny orange with fine black barring. Larger than most other antshrikes and antbirds in its range. Forages singly or in pairs in open understory, and seems to be somewhat rare throughout its range. Its song is a gradually rising series of low whistles given at a steady pace.
Gould's Frogmouth
Batrachostomus stellatus
Cryptic, seldom-seen nightbird of lowland and foothill forests. Unlike other small frogmouths, sexes are alike. Light morph is bright rufous with scattered white dots on the wings and mottled-white underparts. Dark morph is brown but with the same general patterning. Compare with Sunda Frogmouth: male Sunda is much more heavily marked with white above and has patchier markings on the underparts, while female Sunda has a prominent white band across the chest. Sumatran and Bornean Frogmouths inhabit higher elevations. Song is a loud “weeow-wah.” Calls include “weeow” and a rapid series of “wuk” notes that resembles a thrush’s alarm call.
Mountain Buzzard
Buteo oreophilus
Medium-sized brown raptor of montane habitats. Shows thick dark brown streaking on the underparts. In flight, the underside of the wing is streaked brown at the front and solidly white at the back, with a rim of black. Found in mountain forest and adjacent open habitats. Often soars. The call is a piercing whistle. Very similar to the migratory Common Buzzard, but never shows red in the tail, and always has a pattern of heavy dark brown streaks below.
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