Buff-banded Rail
(Rallus philippensis)

Rails are aquatic birds, capable of swimming well.  They have very slim bodies (as per the saying "thin as a rail") that help them move thru dense vegetation and long legs with unwebbed toes that help them walk in wetlands.  They have a short tail, which is flicked up and down as they swim, and short, broad wings.  They seldom fly, but are obviously more than capable of strong flight as noted by their native habitat, which includes most of the South Pacific, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Melanesia, Australia, and New Zealand.  Their habitat includes mangrove forests, salt marshes, and freshwater wetlands.  They feed on spiders, beetles, worms, and other insects, mostly eating at dawn and dusk.  They are fast runners on land.

In the Southern Hemisphere they nest from August thru March, making a nest in layers of grasses.  They lay usually 5 buff-colored eggs with purple-brown or grey spots, which are incubated by both parents for about 18 days.  The chicks are mostly black in color.  They nest twice a year, often re-nesting when the chicks from the first clutch are on month old and becoming independent.  The chicks will fledge in 5-6 weeks.

Reasons for their declining wild populations echo the reasons for the disappearance of many of Australia's small animals.  Introduced species such as rats eat their eggs, rabbits overgraze the wild habitats leaving the rails less vegetation to hide in and making them vulnerable to predation by cats.