Ridgway's rail
| Ridgway's rail | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Rallidae |
| Genus: | Rallus |
| Species: | R. obsoletus
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| Binomial name | |
| Rallus obsoletus Ridgway, 1874
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| Synonyms | |
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Rallus longirostris obsoletus | |
Ridgway's rail (Rallus obsoletus) is a species of bird found principally along the Pacific coast of North America from the
This species is closely related to the
Habitat
Ridgway's rail forages along the ecotone between mudflat and higher vegetated zones and in tidal sloughs. Mussels, clams, arthropods, snails, worms and small fish are its preferred foods, which it retrieves by probing and scavenging the surface while walking. The bird will only forage on mudflats or very shallow water where there is taller plant material nearby to provide protection at high tide. At such high tides it may also prey upon mice, and has been known to scavenge dead fish.[4]
One of the largest populations of Ridgway's rails is in San Francisco Bay, where a total of about 1100 are resident.[5] In the past, however, its geographic range spanned more than 90% of the range of the San Francisco Bay.[6] Other frequent sightings of this species around the San Francisco Bay include the Napa Sonoma Marsh, Bothin Marsh in Mill Valley, Gallinas Creek in San Rafael, Arrowhead Marsh and Damon Marsh in Oakland, the Palo Alto baylands,[7] Charleston Slough in Mountain View, Seal Slough in San Mateo and Belmont Slough.
For cover, Ridgway's rail seeks out emergent wetland dominated by
Feeding and ecology
The omnivorous Ridgway's rail eats many things, including clams, crabs, mussels, and occasionally small rodents and birds.[5]
Breeding
By mid-February, nest building has begun. Ridgway's rail then breeds (California rail subspecies) in the San Francisco Bay from mid-March through August, with peak activity in late June.
Subspecies
- R. o. obsoletus, formerly California clapper rail, nominate subspecies [10]
- R. o. levipes, light-footed rail, a U.S. federal and California state listed endangered subspecies that ranges from Santa Barbara County to the extreme north of the Mexican coast of the Pacific Ocean.[11]
- R. o. yumanensis, Yuma rail, southeastern California and southern Arizona, to northwestern Mexico[12][13]
- R. o. beldingi, Belding's rail, southern Baja California
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- S2CID 198151282.
- ^ David C. Zeiner, William F. Laudenslayer and Kenneth E. Meyer, California’s Wildlife Volume II Birds, State of California Department of Fish and Game (990)
- ^ R.L. Zembal and B.W. Massey, The light-footed clapper rail, distribution, nesting strategies and management, Cal-Neva Wildl. Manage. 36:631–634 (1983)
- ^ a b L. Liu et al., "California Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) Population monitoring: 2005–2011" PRBO Technical Report to the California Department of Fish and Game. (2012)
- ^ a b c U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office Sacramento, California (2013). "California clapper rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation" (PDF).
- ISBN 1-56044-832-6
- San Mateo County, prepared by Earth Metrics Inc. for the city of San Mateo, California (1980)
- ^ R. E. Gill Jr., The breeding birds of south San Francisco Bay estuary, master's thesis, San Jose State University, San Jose, Ca. (1973)
- ^ US-FWS: Species Profile for California Clapper rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus)[dead link]
- ^ Seaworld.org: Light-Footed Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris levipes)
- ^ US-FWS: Species Profile for Yuma Clapper rail (Rallus longirostris yumanensis) . accessed 6.4.2014[dead link]
- ^ BLM: Yuma Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris yumanensis)
External links
Media related to Rallus obsoletus at Wikimedia Commons
