Malay Rail
| Malay Rail | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Malay rail (right), a potted moorhen is shown on the left |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rallina fasciata | ||||||||||||
| ( Raffles , 1822) |
The Malay Rail ( Rallina fasciata ) is a type of rail that belongs to the species of the genus Rallina . It is a medium-sized, short-tailed rallen species that occurs from the northeast of the Indian subcontinent to the Moluccas , the Great and the Lesser Sunda Islands and is occasionally observed as a stray visitor even in Australia.
The stock situation of the Malay Rail is given as 
(= least concern - not endangered). No subspecies are distinguished.
Appearance
The Malay Rail reaches a body length of 23 to 25 centimeters. There is no conspicuous sexual dimorphism , the females only have plumage with a somewhat more intense cinnamon-brown tone.
Adult birds
The head and neck are red-brown, the rest of the top of the body and the tail plumage are dark red-brown. There are some white spots on the wing covers. The wings are conspicuously banded in black and white on the underside. The chest is bright red-brown like the head and neck. The rest of the underside of the body is cross-banded in black and white, only the plumage of the tail-coverts can have a slightly red-brown tint. The bill is greenish horn-colored, the inside of the beak is bright red. The orbital ring is conspicuously coral red, the iris is orange to bright red. The legs and feet are also bright red.
Fledglings
Young birds are more dull and brownish in color than the adult birds. The black and white transverse banding is not as pronounced in them.
Possible confusion
There are several other types of rail in the distribution area of the Malay Rail with which it can be confused. The cinnamon moorhen ( Zapornia fusca ) is smaller and more compact and also has shorter legs and a finer beak. A transverse ligament is limited to the abdomen, rump and flanks. In the three-colored rail , which belongs to the same genus as the Malay rail, the head, neck, coat and chest are maroon, the chin and throat are pale reddish brown to whitish. The back is olive brown to the tail plumage with a slightly grayish tone. The belly, the flanks, the rump and the under tail-coverts are dark brown with an individually different amount of a fine, darker transverse banding. The wings are cross-banded in black and white on the underside.
Distribution area and habitat
The Malay Rail occurs from northern India via Burma and the northwest of Thailand as well as the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines to Indonesia. In Indonesia, the Great and Small Sunda Islands and the Moluccas are part of the distribution area. In the north-west of Australia, the Malay Rail is an occasional wanderer.
The habitat of the Malay Rails are lowlands with a height distribution that does not exceed 800 meters. During the migration, however, it is also observed in individual regions on the Malay Peninsula at 1,400 meters. It inhabits wetlands, riparian zones along large rivers and swamps. It is also found in rainforests and can be found on rice fields. It is only a migratory bird in parts of its range .
Way of life
The way of life of the Malaysian rail has so far been little researched. For example, no details are known about their eating habits.
In Burma, the Malay Rail breeds from August to September, in Thailand, however, in August. While it breeds on Borneo in April and on Java in March. The clutch consists of three to six eggs.
literature
- Bruce M. Beehler, Thane K. Pratt: Birds of New Guinea; Distribution, Taxonomy, and Systematics . Princeton University Press, Princeton 2016, ISBN 978-0-691-16424-3 .
- PJ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds , Volume 2, Raptors to Lapwings, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1993, ISBN 0-19-553069-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Handbook of the Birds of the World zur Malaienralle accessed on May 28, 2017.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 493.
- ↑ a b c Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 494.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 488.