Lewin's Rail
Lewinia pectoralis
Cryptic rail with long, decurved bill. Adult has reddish-brown crown and nape, gray breast, and black-and-white barred belly. Darker juvenile very dull in comparison and lacks the reddish-brown crown. Buff-banded Rail has a chunkier bill and prominent pale eyebrow. This species is typically difficult to observe as it tends to hide in reed beds, where heard far more often than seen. Calls include a loud "kek-kek-kek-kek" as well as strange grunts and growls.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Lewinia pectoralis
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1831)
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Lewinia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
Lewin's rails are not listed as threatened on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. However, their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example:<p>Lewin's rail is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988). Under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has not yet been prepared. It is also notable that the Lewin's rail is listed by an earlier scientific name (Dryolimnas pectoralis) under this Act.<p>On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, the Lewin's rail is listed as vulnerable.<p>A subspecies of Lewin's rail, listed as Lewin's water rail (Rallus pectoralis clelandi), is on Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation (Specially Protected Fauna) Notice 2008 Schedule 2 — Fauna presumed to be extinct, under the WA Wildlife Conservation Act 1950.<p>Along Kedron Brook in Brisbane, the bird is described as rare and threatened. The Brisbane Airport's construction of a second runway initially included 38 hectares of wetlands to be set aside for habitat. This was later expanded to 49 hectares to provide a more appropriate vegetation corridor.<p>Lewin's rail is protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. It is an offence to damage or interfere with Lewin's rail in any other way than when accepted by the Act.<p>Redland City Council manages environmental pests throughout the Redlands to minimize their impact on native ecosystems and birds such as Lewin's rail.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner
Neophilydor erythrocercum
A medium-sized bird, brownish above and pale buff below, with a bright rufous rump and tail and a distinctive buffy line behind the eye. Found in tall rainforest, where it occurs mainly in the midstory and canopy, but occasionally in the understory. Will follow mixed species flocks at all levels. Feeds on insects and forages actively, often investigating dead leaf clusters and other accumulations of detritus. Song is a short, weak series of squeaking notes that fades away; call is a hard doubled note. Most similar to Rufous-tailed Foliage-gleaner but somewhat larger and more likely to occur at lower levels in the forest; both tail and rump are rufous in Rufous-rumped.
Masked Gnatcatcher
Polioptila dumicola
Bold patterned gnatcatcher usually found in the canopy of savanna, open woodlands, and forest edges where it may join mixed-species flocks. Largely grayish overall with a white-edged black tail. Males have a black mask while females have a small black ear patch on a generally pale face. Males of the subspecies from Northwest Brazil are whiter below and grayish in other populations.
Striped Woodpecker
Dryobates lignarius
The only small woodpecker in its range. Fairly common but easily overlooked in a variety of wooded and forested habitats, parks, farmland, and matorral with taller hedges and trees. Usually found as ones and twos, foraging on smaller branches from low bushes to tall Eucalyptus trees. Sometimes joins with feeding flocks of rayaditos and other species, mainly in winter. Black-and-white pattern much like other small woodpeckers, with barred upperparts and dark streaks (or stripes) on breast. Male has a red nape patch.
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