Chestnut rail

Scientific Name: Eulabeornis castaneoventris

Thickset, with gray head and pinkish brown underparts. Three color morphs, with upperparts olive, chestnut, or olive-brown. Juvenile has duller bare parts.

Habitat:

Dense mangroves.

Diet:

Eats mainly crabs; also other invertebrates. Uses stones as anvils to break shells of hermit crabs

Reproduction:

Monogamous. Breeds September through February. Nest a bulky platform of sticks, grass, leaves, bark and seaweed, in mangroves. Eggs four to five young fledged at nine weeks

Behaviour:

Diurnal and nocturnal, according to tidal cycle. Shy, secretive, and alert. Has a strutting walk; runs very swiftly. Gives a characteristic harsh screech. Territorial when breeding.

Threat:

Not threatened. Patchily recorded; possibly overlooked. Probably not uncommon locally

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