The Calayan rail is one of the 20 extant flightless rails known. It is small and dark brown, with a distinctive orange-red bill and legs, and utters loud, harsh calls. Its habitat seems to be restricted to forests on coralline limestone areas on Calayan and extends to a total of less than 100km2. Biologists estimate that there may be 200 pairs on the island. Its IUCN Red List classification is still pending, although "vulnerable" status is likely.
The Calayan Rail's genus, Gallirallus, includes many species of Southwest Pacific islands, of which the most familiar in the English-speaking world is the Weka of New Zealand. Its species name was derived from the name of the island.
Due to its recent discovery, little further information on this species is available at this time.
External links
Birdlife International press release (http://www.birdlife.net/news/pr/2004/08/calayan_rail.html)
A CalayanRail is held after its discovery by Filipino and British wildlife researchers on the tiny forested island of Calayan in the northern Philippines, in this undated image made available by the expedition.
During a May expedition to Calayan, about 320 miles north of Manila, a team member was walking in the forest when she saw a small group of unfamiliar dark brown birds with distinctive orange-red bills and legs, the British conservation group BirdLife International said in a press release Tuesday.
"The Calayanrail is a relative of the internationally familiar moorhen, with bright red beak and legs contrasting sharply with its dark plumage," BirdLife said in a statement.
The Calayanrail (Gallirallus calayanensis) is a flightless bird of the rail, moorhen, and coot family (Rallidae) that inhabits Calayan Island in the Philippines.
The Calayanrail is one of the 20 known extant flightless rails.
The CalayanRail's genus, Gallirallus, includes many species of Southwest Pacific islands, of which the most familiar in the English-speaking world is the Weka of New Zealand.
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