New Britain Rail
Gallirallus insignis
A round-bodied and short-tailed rail with long pink legs. Mostly chestnut above and black below with white barring. Almost flightless. Prefers damp thick forest and mountain valleys, but also occurs in swampy grass and agricultural areas. Similar to Pale-vented Bush-Hen and Buff-banded Rail, but differs from both in its black throat with white barring, and from Buff-banded by its lack of a prominent white eyebrow. Vocally poorly known, but reported to give wheezing nasal barks and screams.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Gallirallus insignis
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1880)
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Gallirallus
Range and habitat
It is endemic to the island of New Britain. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Riverside Wren
Cantorchilus semibadius
Medium-sized wren with rufous upperparts and bold black-and-white barred underparts. Complex black-and-white face pattern. Sexes alike. Found in pairs or small groups, foraging in the lower levels of forests and shrubby edges.
Heermann's Gull
Larus heermanni
Unique smoky-gray gull with red bill. Breeding adults have a clean white head that blends seamlessly into the gray neck; nonbreeding adults have smudgy dark streaking on the head. Immatures are entirely dark brown with a yellowish or reddish bill with a dark tip. Almost exclusively coastal; usually seen in flocks loafing on beaches or feeding in nearshore waters. Breeds in Mexico mainly in the Gulf of California; migrates as far north as Washington and British Columbia in winter. Overall dark plumage of immatures might recall a dark-morph jaeger; note Heermann's lacks pale wing flashes and never shows pale mottling on the belly or underwings.
Cinereous-breasted Spinetail
Synallaxis hypospodia
Medium-sized spinetail with a long tail and a black patch on the throat. Like other Synallaxis spinetails it has a rusty crown and wings, but note the grayish face, olive-brown back and tail, grayish breast, and a white chin. It inhabits wet grasslands and open areas with scattered shrubs; often near water. The song is a loud and accelerated series of “chéw, chew-chee-chee-chee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-eu”.
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