Galapagos Rail
(Adult)
Where to Look
- Santa Cruz Highlands
Similar Galapagos Species
Paint-billed Crake
(Neocrex erythrops)
Identification
Separated from Paint-billed Crake and Common Gallinule by dark legs, all black bill and small size (roughly half the size of Common Gallinule).
Description
A suprisingly small ralid with a dark grey head and chest and dark brown back and belly. It has a distinctive bright red eye, black bill and dark brown legs. Brown belly and upperparts flecked with small white spots. Sexes are alike. Juveniles like adults, but overall browner and with no white flecks.
Galapagos Distribution
Found in the undergrowth of humid zones on Santa Cruz, Pinta, Isabela, Fernandina, Santiago, San Cristobal and Floreana.
Global Distribution
Endemic to the Galapagos
Status in the Galapagos
Rare to locally fairly common endemic resident. Often overlooked.
Conservation
Ranked as vulnerable as a consequence of its limited range and a declining population. The total number of mature individuals is estimated at between 3300 and 6700. This species is sensitive to habitat changes bought about by introduced grazers such as goats which destroy the ferny undergrowth the rail is found in. After pigs, donkeys and goats were exyripated on Santiago, for example, rail populations increased there.