# Mangrove rail

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{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2022}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Rallus longirostris - David F. Belmonte - 255792941 (cropped).jpeg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Rallus longirostris'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T62154828A95190148 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T62154828A95190148.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Rallus
| species = longirostris
| authority = [Boddaert](/source/Pieter_Boddaert), 1783
| synonyms = 
| range_map = Rallus longirostris map.svg
}}

The '''mangrove rail''' ('''''Rallus longirostris''''') is a species of [bird](/source/bird) in subfamily Rallinae of family [Rallidae](/source/Rallidae), the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in [Central](/source/Central_America) and [South America](/source/South_America).<ref name=IOC12.2>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/flufftails/ |title=Finfoots, flufftails, rails, trumpeters, cranes, Limpkin |website=IOC World Bird List |version =v 12.2 |editor-last1=Gill |editor-first1= F. |editor-last2=Donsker|editor-first2=D.|editor-last3=Rasmussen |editor-first3=P. |date=August 2022 |access-date=August 9, 2022 }}</ref><ref name=HBW2021>HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==

The mangrove rail was described by the French polymath [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](/source/Georges-Louis_Leclerc%2C_Comte_de_Buffon) in 1781 in his ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux'' from a specimen obtained in [French Guiana](/source/French_Guiana).<ref>{{ cite book | last=Buffon | first=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | year=1781 | title=Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux | volume=15 | place=Paris | publisher=De L'Imprimerie Royale | pages=251–252 | chapter=Le râle a long bec | language=fr  | chapter-url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42298662 }}</ref> The bird was also illustrated in a hand-colored plate engraved by [François-Nicolas Martinet](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois-Nicolas_Martinet) in the ''Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle'' which was produced under the supervision of [Edme-Louis Daubenton](/source/Edme-Louis_Daubenton) to accompany Buffon's text.<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Buffon | first1=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author1-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | last2=Martinet | first2=François-Nicolas | author2-link=François-Nicolas Martinet | last3=Daubenton | first3=Edme-Louis  | author3-link=Edme-Louis Daubenton | last4=Daubenton | first4=Louis-Jean-Marie | author4-link=Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton | year=1765–1783 | chapter=Râle à long bec, de Cayenne | title=Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle | volume=9 | place=Paris | publisher=De L'Imprimerie Royale | at=Plate 849 | chapter-url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35224601 }}</ref>  Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist [Pieter Boddaert](/source/Pieter_Boddaert) coined the [binomial name](/source/binomial_name) ''Rallus longirostris'' in his catalogue of the ''Planches Enluminées''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Boddaert | first=Pieter | author-link=Pieter Boddaert | year=1783 | title=Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D'Aubenton: avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés | place=Utrecht | page=52, Number 849 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27822672 | language=fr }}</ref> The genus ''Rallus'' had been erected in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist [Carl Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus) in the [tenth edition](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae) of his ''[Systema Naturae](/source/Systema_Naturae)''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1| edition=10th | page=153 | publisher=Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii  | language=la | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727060 }}</ref> The [specific epithet](/source/specific_epithet) ''longirostris'' combines the Latin ''longus'' meaning "long" and ''-rostris'' meaning "-billed".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl | url-access=limited | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn= 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl/page/n230 230] }}</ref>

The mangrove rail was formerly considered to be [conspecific](/source/conspecific) with what are now the [Aztec rail](/source/Aztec_rail) (''R. tenuirostris''), [Ridgway's rail](/source/Ridgway's_rail) (''R. obsoletus''), the [king rail](/source/king_rail) (''R. elegans''), and the [clapper rail](/source/clapper_rail) (''R. crepitans''), and more recently as conspecific with Ridgeway's and king rails. Worldwide taxonomic systems now agree that each of the five is a separate species based on a 2013 study that described their different genetics and morphologies.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Maley, J.M. |author2=Brumfield, R.T. |name-list-style=amp |year=2013 |title=Mitochondrial and Next-Generation Sequence Data used to Infer Phylogenetic Relationships and Species Limits in the Clapper/King Rail Complex |journal=The Condor |volume=115 |issue=2 |pages=316–329 |doi=10.1525/cond.2013.110138|s2cid=85989924 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=IOC12.2/><ref name=Clements2022>Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022</ref><ref name=HBW2021/> Many systems treat it as most closely related to Ridgway's rail.<ref name=AZRA-BOW>del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, and D. A. Christie (2020). Aztec Rail (''Rallus tenuirostris''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.kinrai2.01 retrieved November 22, 2022</ref>

Eight [subspecies](/source/subspecies) of mangrove rail are recognized:<ref name=IOC12.2/>

* ''R. l. phelpsi'' [Wetmore](/source/Alexander_Wetmore), 1941
* ''R. l. dillonripleyi'' [Phelps Jr.](/source/William_H._Phelps_Jr.) & Aveledo, 1987
* ''R. l. margaritae'' [Zimmer](/source/John_T._Zimmer) & [Phelps](/source/William_H._Phelps_Sr.), 1944
* ''R. l. pelodramus'' [Oberholser](/source/Harry_C._Oberholser), 1937
* ''R. l. longirostris'' [Boddaert](/source/Pieter_Boddaert), 1783
* ''R. l. crassirostris'' [Lawrence](/source/George_Newbold_Lawrence), 1871
* ''R. l. cypereti'' [Taczanowski](/source/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Taczanowski), 1878
* ''R. l. berryorum'' J.M. Maley, J.E. McCormack, W.L.E. Tsai, E.M. Schwab, J. Van Dort, R.C. Roselvy, & M.D. Carling, 2016<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Maley | first1=J.M. | last2=McCormack | first2=J.E. | last3=Tsai |first3=W.L.E. | last4=Schwab | first4=E.M. |last5=Van Dort | first5=J. |last6=Juárez | first6=R.C. |last7=Carling| first7=M.D. | year=2016 |title=Fonseca Mangrove Rail: a new subspecies from Honduras | journal=Western Birds |volume=47 | issue=4 | pages=1–14 | doi=10.21199/WB47.4.1 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312029927}}</ref>

==Description==

The mangrove rail is about {{convert|33|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and weighs {{convert|260|to|310|g|oz|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. It has a long, slender, and slightly decurved bill with a brownish [maxilla](/source/maxilla) and an orange-yellow [mandible](/source/mandible). Its legs are light orange-red. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies ''R. l. longirostris'' have dull gray-brown upperparts with darker centers to the feathers. They have a white [loral](/source/Lore_(anatomy)) streak on their pale gray face, a whitish throat, tawny buff neck and breast with a white center to the belly, and black and white bars on the flanks. Juveniles are similar to adults but are darker and duller.<ref name=MARA-BOW>Taylor, B. and D. A. Christie (2020). Mangrove Rail (''Rallus longirostris''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.manrai1.01 retrieved November 22, 2022</ref>

Subspecies ''R. l. phelpsi'' has a darker crown and upperparts and paler underparts than the nominate. ''R. l. margaritae'' is the darkest subspecies; it is smaller than the nominate and has bolder bars on the flanks. ''R. l. pelodramus'' is similar in size to ''margaritae'' but paler. The dark markings on the upperparts of ''R. l. cypereti'' are lighter than those of the nominate and the dark flank bars are also lighter.<ref name=MARA-BOW/>

==Distribution and habitat==

The mangrove rail is found discontinuously on the Pacific coast of Central America and the Pacific, Caribbean, and Atlantic coasts of South America. It inhabits coastal mangrove swamps and brackish and salt marshes. The subspecies are distributed thus:<ref name=Clements2022/><ref name=MARA-BOW/>

* ''R. l. phelpsi'' [Wetmore](/source/Alexander_Wetmore), 1941 – northeastern Colombia's [La Guajira Department](/source/La_Guajira_Department) into northwestern Venezuela as far as [Miranda](/source/Miranda_(state)) state
* ''R. l. dillonripleyi'' [Phelps Jr](/source/William_H._Phelps_Jr.) & Aveledo, 1987 – northeastern Venezuela's [Sucre](/source/Sucre_(state)) state
* ''R. l. margaritae'' [Zimmer, JT](/source/John_T._Zimmer) & [Phelps](/source/William_H._Phelps_Sr.), 1944 – [Margarita Island](/source/Margarita_Island) off the Venezuelan coast
* ''R. l. pelodramus'' [Oberholser](/source/Harry_C._Oberholser), 1937 – [Trinidad](/source/Trinidad)
* ''R. l. longirostris'' [Boddaert](/source/Pieter_Boddaert), 1783 – [Guyana](/source/Guyana), [Suriname](/source/Suriname) and [French Guiana](/source/French_Guiana)
* ''R. l. crassirostris'' [Lawrence](/source/George_Newbold_Lawrence), 1871 – Brazil from the Amazon estuary south to [Santa Catarina](/source/Santa_Catarina_(state)) state
* ''R. l. cypereti'' [Taczanowski](/source/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Taczanowski), 1878 – from [Nariño Department](/source/Nari%C3%B1o_Department) in southwestern Colombia through Ecuador into Peru's [Department of Tumbes](/source/Department_of_Tumbes)
* ''R. l. berryorum'' Maley et al., 2016 - [El Salvador](/source/El_Salvador), [Honduras](/source/Honduras), and [Nicaragua](/source/Nicaragua). The population in northwestern [Costa Rica](/source/Costa_Rica) is believed to also belong to this subspecies.

==Behavior==
===Movement===

The mangrove rail is sedentary.<ref name=MARA-BOW/>

===Feeding===

The mangrove rail forages near cover, mostly at low tide and during the morning and early evening. It is believed to hunt by sight, probing sand and mud, tossing aside leaf litter to expose prey, catching small fish in shallow water, and scavenging dead fish. It has a very diverse diet that includes animal prey such as crustaceans (especially crabs and crayfish), molluscs, leeches, aquatic and terrestrial insects, fish, and amphibians. It also feeds on plant matter such as seeds, berries, and tubers, especially in winter.<ref name=MARA-BOW/>

===Breeding===

The mangrove rail's breeding season varies geographically but in most areas includes May and June. It makes a nest of sticks and dead leaves near water on the ground or in vegetation. The clutch size is three to seven eggs. Both sexes incubate the eggs for the period of 18 to 29 days.<ref name=MARA-BOW/>

{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Rallus-longirostris |species=mangrove rail}}

===Vocalization===

The mangrove rail's main vocalization is a "[l]oud clattering 'kek-kek-kek…'" that accelerates and then slows; it makes this call mostly at dawn and dusk. Both sexes make "a series of loud, rapid 'kak' notes" as an "advertising call". Another call is a "drawn-out low 'raaaaa'."<ref name=MARA-BOW/>

==Status==

The [IUCN](/source/IUCN) has assessed the mangrove rail as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.<ref name=IUCN/> A longer term threat is "the degradation and loss of mangroves and other wetland habitats."<ref name=MARA-BOW/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1271783}}

mangrove rail
mangrove rail
Category:Birds of Venezuela
Category:Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
Category:Birds of the Guiana Shield
Category:Birds of Brazil
Category:Birds of Ecuador
mangrove rail
mangrove rail

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mangrove rail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove_rail) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove_rail?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.