Plain-flanked Rail
Rallus wetmorei
Large, plain rail with two color morphs, either dark chocolate brown or paler medium brown. Most with a few white feathers on head and back, especially dark morph. More often in pairs than alone, walking in the darkest areas of mangroves. Occurs in coastal salt lagoons, preferably in black mangrove and occasionally in red mangrove. Easy to find by voice, although sounds virtually identical to Mangrove Rail. In its habitat, the only all-brown rail with no barring on underparts. Range restricted and endangered, endemic to a small section of coast in northern Venezuela.
Identification
The plain-flanked rail is about 33 cm (13 in) long. It has a brown bill. The sexes are alike. Adults have dull gray-brown upperparts with darker centers to the feathers. They have a white loral streak on their gray-brown face and a whitish throat. Their underparts are brown with no barring.
Taxonomy
The plain-flanked rail has been suggested to be conspecific with the mangrove rail (R. longirostris) but this treatment has not been accepted by major taxonomic systems because the two do not interbreed where their ranges overlap. The plain-flanked rail is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Rallus wetmorei
- Authority
- Zimmer, JT & Phelps, WH, 1944
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Rallus
Range and habitat
The plain-flanked rail is known from only a few locations on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela between eastern Falcón and western Aragua states. It primarily inhabits coastal mangroves and has also been found in emergent vegetation of brackish and saltwater lagoons and marshes.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The plain-flanked rail is apparently sedentary.<p>Nothing is known about the plain-flanked rail's foraging behavior or diet. Both are assumed to be similar to those of the mangrove rail, which inhabits similar landscapes. That species has a very diverse diet that includes animal prey such as crustaceans (especially crabs and crayfish), molluscs, leeches, aquatic and terrestrial insects, fish, and amphibians. It also feeds on plant matter such as seeds, berries, and tubers, especially in winter.<p>The plain-flanked rail's breeding season is not known in detail but includes both April and May. A few nests have been discovered; they were platforms of twigs and leaves placed on mangrove roots or in mangrove trees. Clutch sizes of four to seven eggs have been noted. Both members of a pair incubate the eggs. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known.<p>The plain-flanked rail's "advertising call" is "a series of loud, rapid 'kek-kek-kek...kek-kek-kek' notes" that are given in duet and preceded by "soft growling 'grrrrr' calls". Courting males make "a series of evenly spaced harsh 'kek' notes". The species also makes a grunting call.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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