Lord Howe Woodhen

Woodhen ( Gallirallus sylvestris)

The Woodhen ( Gallirallus sylvestris, English: Lord Howe Lord Howe Iceland Woodhen or rail) is a flightless bird from the family of Rails ( Rallidae ). It is an endemic inhabitants of the Lord Howe Island off the Australian coast.

Appearance

The Woodhen is 35-40 cm tall, with males being slightly larger than females. The wingspan amounts to about 49 cm. The animals are olive-brown on the upper side and one color on the bottom a little gray, with whitish chin. The wings are black and red banded. The short tail is better educated than that of the fur Rail ( Gallirallus lafresnayanus ), the wings, however, are further back than does this. She has a downwardly curved beak.

Habitat

It inhabits different closed forests of Lord Howe Island. In the higher elevations it lives in the local mossy moist forests. In the deeper layers it inhabits forests of sclerophyllous vegetation, mainly consisting of forests of palm trees of the species Howea forsteriana. In the rainforests of the island it is hard to find.

It feeds on molluscs, insect larvae, earthworms, crustaceans, fruits and eggs and young birds of shearwaters and petrels.

Decline and recovery

When the Lord Howe Island was discovered in 1788, the Woodhen was there a common bird. Even in 1800 it was still common from sea level up to the mountain tops, but since the mid-19th century, it is restricted to the higher altitudes. 1969 studies showed that only 20 to 25 copies survived solely on the slopes of Mount Gower. In 1978 there was a population that included only 10-13 breeding pairs, which in a remote area had their territories on the highest mountain of the islands. At higher altitudes, the mortality of adult animals and chicks was highest, while feral pigs prevented the animals colonize surrounding areas. 1978 to 1980, it was found that a high mortality of adult forest Coot, the number of females expressed so far that not all areas have been filled, although adolescent animals took part in the breeding business. In 1980, there were only three healthy adult animals that were captured and taken to a hatchery. 1981-1985 of the offspring were 85 released back into freedom. Even feral pigs and cats were eradicated. In 2002, the population was between 250 and 300 pieces.

The analysis of the threats of Woodhen and the solution found are considered to be prime example of the species. On the island, there were a number of possible reasons for the decline of introduced rats through to Tasmania Barn Owl. It could preserve the Rail from extinction only the elimination of the pigs, and the timely detection of the ground and finding a solution was critical to the success of the program.

Today, dogs that are not sufficiently supervised by their owners, are a problem. Introduced Tasmania Barn Owl (Tyto castanops ) is the greatest danger, which there is for this kind on the island. It is believed that she is responsible for ensuring that the population in Little Slope declined significantly.