#638: Rail

The Rail Family includes an array of semi-terrestrial birds including crakes, coots and moorhen, spread throughout the world. Although generally associated with wetlands, various species have been found to colonise every environment except the very dry and the very cold. Many species are flightless, with the others favouring a terrestrial existence. Island species, in particular, have lost the ability to fly, and with it have been exterminated by introduced predators.

This fellow is a Madagascan Rail, of the Rallus, or "typical rail" Genus. He uses his long bill to forage for invertebrates in his swampy home. His main threat comes from habitat loss, as lowland wetlands are cleared for the formation of rice fields. He is classified as Vulnerable.