Inaccessible Island Rail
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| Inaccessible Island Rail Conservation status: Vulnerable | ||||||||||||||
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| Atlantisia rogersi Lowe, 1923 |
The Inaccessible Island Rail, Atlantisia rogersi, is a small bird of the rail family, Rallidae. It is found only on Inaccessible Island in the Tristan Archipelago, and is notable for being the smallest extant flightless bird in the world. Unlike many other islands, Inaccessible Island has remained free from introduced predators, allowing this species to flourish while many other flightless birds, including the even smaller Stephens Island Wren, have perished.
This rail has an average weight of 30 grams and a length of 17 centimeters. It is dark rusty-brown above and dark grey below, with a short black bill and a red eye.
This rail is found throughout Inaccessible Island, but prefers grassland and open fern-bush. Its diet includes earthworms, moths, berries, and seeds.
A clutch of two eggs is laid between October and January; chicks are vulnerable to predation by the Tristan Thrush.
Two larger species from the same genus are extinct: The Ascension Flightless Rail (Atlantisia elpenor) disappeared around 1700, but was briefly mentioned and described by traveller and hobby naturalist Peter Mundy in 1656. Atlantisia podarces, the St. Helena Flightless Rail, disappeared around 1600 and has never been encountered by scientists. Both species became extinct due to predation by introduced species, mainly cats and rats.
External link
- Description and conservation status (http://www.birdlife.net/datazone/search/species_search.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=2881&m=1)
- Pictures of Tristan da Cunha stamps showing the Inaccessible Island Rail (http://www.bird-stamps.org/species/43037.htm)