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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
light-footed
clapper rail |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Gruiformes |
| FAMILY: |
Rallidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Rallus
longirostris levipes |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The
light-footed clapper rail is a long-legged wading
bird with large feet, a long, slightly down-curved
bill and a short tail that is often cocked upwards. |
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| SIZE: |
35.6-40.6 cm (14-16 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
227-398 g (8-14 oz.) |
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| DIET: |
Feeds
mainly on a variety of invertebrates such as crabs,
snails, insects, worms, and mussels. Also occasionally
eats fishes, tadpoles, plant matter and possibly
mice. |
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| INCUBATION: |
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| CLUTCH
SIZE |
Averages
6-9 eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
Approximately
21 days |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Approximately
1 year |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Approximately
2-4 years; light-footed clapper rails at SeaWorld
have lived for up to 10 years |
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| RANGE: |
Found
along the California coastline from Santa Barbara
to the California-Mexico Border and into northern
Baja California, Mexico |
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| HABITAT: |
The
light-footed clapper rail is a rarely seen inhabitant
of coastal marshes |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
| REGIONAL |
Estimated
at fewer than 600 individuals for the regional population
of southern California |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
No
data |
| CITES |
No
data |
| USFWS |
Endangered
- added to USFWS Endangered Species List in 1970 |
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| 1. |
Clapper
rails are crepuscular - or more active at
dawn and dusk. One way to census clapper rails is
to listen for the duets of breeding pairs. Mated
pairs duet more often in the evening and slightly
less often during the morning hours. |
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This
subspecies was added to the USFWS Endangered Species
List in 1970. With less than 300 breeding pairs
left in the wild, the light-footed clapper rail
is one of the most endangered birds in California.
In
a 2003 census of southern California coastal wetlands,
23 subpopulations of light-footed clapper rails
were detected. All subpopulations have been through
recent genetic bottlenecks.
Habitat
loss due to development and degradation is the
primary factor in the light-footed clapper rail
population decline. Predation on clapper rails
by non-native species such as red foxes, rats,
and domestic cats also poses a major threat to
subpopulation numbers in some areas. Natural predators
of light-footed clapper rails include red-tailed
hawks, northern harriers and peregrine falcons.
SeaWorld
San Diego has partnered with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the Chula Vista Nature Center
and a group of independent biologists to develop
a light-footed clapper rail captive propagation
protocol for a Captive Breeding and Release Program.
SeaWorld contributes to propagation efforts by
incubating and hand-rearing clapper rail eggs
and chicks. As of 2003, more than 15 viable eggs
and 60 young rails that were raised at SeaWorld
and the Chula Vista Nature Center were successfully
transferred into four target subpopulation areas
in an effort to increase the genetic variability
and numbers of light-footed clapper rails.
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|
| Terres,
J.K. The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North
American Birds. New York. Wings Books. 1991. |
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|
Zembal,
R. and J.M. Fancher. "Foraging Behavior and
Foods of the Light-Footed Clapper Rail".
The Condor. 90:959-962. 1988.
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| NatureServe.
2003. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia
of life [web application]. Version 1.8. NatureServe,
Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. |
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