Dieffenbach's Rail

Dieffenbach- Rail ( Gallirallus dieffenbachii )

The Dieffenbach- Rail ( Gallirallus dieffenbachii ) was a flightless Rail of the Chatham Islands, the island Mangare and Pitt Islands in New Zealand. The species is extinct since 1872. The specific epithet honors the German geologist Ernst Dieffenbach.

Description

The back of the Rail was olive brown and irregular sand color and black banded. The upper back had black and brown stripes. The lower back was indistinct dark brown striated. Top of the head and neck were reddish brown. From the beak over the eye to the back of the neck resulted in a maroon stripe. About the eyes there was a light gray stripe, chin and throat were also light gray. The weißlichgraue throat and chest brown banded with whitish tips were separated by a binding of black feathers. The upper abdomen was horizontally striped black and white. The lower abdomen was black, the under tail-coverts black with red-brown banding.

Illustrations show the way that the plumage of the banded Rail ( Gallirallus phillipensis ) resembled amazing. However, it differs in some respects from the adult dress this way and there corresponds more to the youth dress banded Rail. Compared to Chathamralle ( Gallirallus modestus ) this type had a more developed sternum. The beak length was between that of banded Rail and Chathamralle, the beak was bent downward.

The Dieffenbach- Rail was 31 cm long and taller and stronger built than the banded Rail. The beak of Dieffenbach- Rail was in proportion to length of skull about the same size, but stronger and more curved than in the banded Rail. The proportions of the bones of Dieffenbach- Rail Wekaralle very similar to those of the Wekaralle a whole is significantly greater. The flight apparatus was reduced, and therefore the type flightless.

Way of life

That the Dieffenbach- Rail her physique very similar with respect to the Wekaralle, suggests that it was their ecological counterpart for the Chatham Islands. The Dieffenbach- Rail probably lived in the forest, overgrown with fern areas and in fresh and salt water marshes or sumps. She was particularly vulnerable as ground-nesting birds by field processing, livestock and pasture management.

Distribution and extinction

The species lived on the Chatham Islands and the Isle of Mangare at Pitt Iceland, after bones found there was it formerly also on Pitt Iceland itself, a single copy of Dieffenbach- Rail in 1840 captured alive by Dieffenbach, the first and last time and by Gray scientifically described, at this time the way to Chatham was rare. The final detection was performed in 1872, the type probably died by predation by introduced dogs, cats and rats as well as by applied bushfire for the recovery of agricultural land from.