Clapper Rail

Rallo grande, generalmente dal colore smorto, ma il piumaggio variabile a seconda della località. Può assomigliare molto al Rallo reale. Gli uccelli della costa atlantica sono complessivamente di un grigio-marrone smorto con poche caratteristiche contrastanti; debolmente barrati di grigio e bianco sui fianchi e becco arancione pallido. La popolazione della costa del Golfo è più brillante con collo arancione, più simile al Rallo reale; nota la barratura sui fianchi più pallida e diffusa e le striature scure sul dorso meno contrastanti. Si trova quasi sempre in paludi salmastre vicino alla costa, dove può essere abbondante e vocale. Mai in paludi d'acqua dolce interne, dove è sostituito dal Rallo reale. Di solito timido, ma regolarmente visto nutrirsi lungo il bordo dei canali. Ascolta una serie di aspre note "kek" o forti grugniti rauchi che erompono dalla palude. A volte si ibrida con il Rallo reale dove l'acqua dolce e salata si incontrano; alcuni uccelli è meglio lasciarli non identificati.

Identificazione

The clapper rail is a chicken-sized bird that rarely flies. It is grayish brown with a pale chestnut breast. Males and females have similar plumage. The bill which curves slightly downwards is orange yellow at the base in males and duller in females. An adult bird has an overall length of 32–41 cm (13–16 in) and weighs 199–400 g (7.0–14.1 oz).

Tassonomia

The clapper rail was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other rails in the genus Rallus and coined the binomial name Rallus crepitans. Gmelin based his description on those by Thomas Pennant and John Latham. The type locality is Long Island, New York. The genus Rallus had been erected in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. The specific epithet crepitans is Latin meaning "breaking wind" or "resounding".<p>The clapper rail was formerly treated as a subspecies of the mangrove rail (Rallus longirostris). The decision to treat the clapper rail as a separate species was based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study that was published in 2013. A cladogram based on the 2013 genetic study is as follows:<p>Eight subspecies of the clapper rail are recognised:

Nome scientifico

Rallus crepitans

Autorità

Gmelin, JF, 1789

Ordine

Gruiformi

Famiglia

Rallidae

Genere

Rallus

Areale e habitat

The clapper rail is found along the Atlantic coasts of the eastern U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, eastern Mexico, some Caribbean islands, and south through eastern Central America, as well at several inland locales. Populations are stable on the East Coast of the U.S., although the numbers of this bird have declined due to habitat loss. Clapper rails are saltmarsh specialists, and are highly mobile across their range, with females showing weak philopatry and a lack of philopatry in males.

Migrazione

Migratori completi