Lewin's rail (''Lewinia pectoralis'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Rallidae Rails (avian family Rallidae) are a large, Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of small- to medium-sized terrestrial and/or semi-amphibious birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity in its forms, and includes ...

. It is also known as the water rail, Lewin's water rail, Lewin's grind rail, slate-breasted rail, slate-breasted water rail, pectoral rail, pectoral water rail, short-toed rail and short-toed water rail. Its common name and Latin binomial commemorate English naturalist and illustrator William Lewin. It is found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Wallacea Wallacea is a biogeography, biogeographical designation for a group of mainly list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian islands separated by deep-water straits from the Asian and Australia (continent), Australian continental shelf, continental ...

, and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

Subspecies

Eight subspecies have been described: *''L. p. exsul'' (Hartert, 1898) –

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...

;New Guinea *''L. p. mayri'' (Hartert, 1930) – Arfak Mountains *''L. p. captus'' (Mayr & Gilliard, 1951) - central

*''L. p. insulsus'' (Greenway, 1935) - Herzog Mountains *''L. p. alberti'' (Rothschild & Hartert, 1907) - mountains of south-eastern New Guinea ;Australia *'' L. p. clelandi'' (Mathews, 1911) – south-western

(extinct) *''L. p. pectoralis'' (Temminck, 1831) – eastern and south-eastern Australia *''L. p. brachipus'' (Swainson, 1838) –

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Conservation status

Lewin's rails are not listed as threatened on the Australian

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

. However, their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example: Lewin's rail is listed as threatened on the Victorian

Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988) The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Parliament designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...

.Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria
Under this Act, an ''Action Statement'' for the recovery and future management of this species has not yet been prepared.''Department of Sustainability and Environment'', Victoria
It is also notable that the Lewin's rail is listed by an earlier scientific name (''Dryolimnas pectoralis'') under this Act. On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, the Lewin's rail is listed as vulnerable. A subspecies of Lewin's rail, listed as Lewin's water rail (''Rallus pectoralis clelandi''), is on Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation (Specially Protected Fauna) Notice 2008 Schedule 2 — Fauna presumed to be extinct, under the WA

Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 The ''Wildlife Conservation Act 1950'' is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Attrib ...

. Along

Kedron Brook The Kedron Brook is a creek that flows through the northern suburbs of Brisbane in the South East Queensland, south-east region of Queensland, Australia. Course and features Kedron Brook arises from the confluence of Kedron Creek and Cedar Cree ...

in Brisbane, the bird is described as rare and threatened. The

Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is an international airport serving Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, total amounting to more than 22.7 mill ...

's construction of a second runway initially included 38 hectares of wetlands to be set aside for habitat. This was later expanded to 49 hectares to provide a more appropriate vegetation corridor. Lewin's rail is protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. It is an offence to damage or interfere with Lewin's rail in any other way than when accepted by the Act.Redland City Council. “Lewin's Rail.” Redland City Council, Redland City Council, 6 June 2016, www.redland.qld.gov.au/info/20254/wildlife_in_the_redlands/697/lewins_rail. Redland City Council manages environmental pests throughout the Redlands to minimize their impact on native ecosystems and birds such as Lewin's rail.

Habits

Lewin's rail is a highly secretive bird. This species prefers permanent, fresh-to-saline wetlands surrounded by dense vegetation. That means it can be found in artificial wetlands surrounded by dense vegetation. Lewin's rails breed over the summer period, laying three to five eggs in their saucer-shaped ground nests, which they build from dry vegetation such as reeds and grasses. The nests usually sit just above the water's edge in dense reeds and grassland. These birds forage in shallow water around the water's edge, under the cover of surrounding vegetation and aquatic plants. Lewin's rails feed mainly on invertebrates and occasionally bird eggs and frogs.

Threatening

Loss of habitat due to changes in water body structure, disruption of nests, and predation by introduced species.

Media

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1273720 Lewin's rail Birds of the New Guinea Highlands Birds of New South Wales Birds of Queensland Birds of Tasmania Birds of Victoria (state) Lewin's rail Articles containing video clips Taxonomy articles created by Polbot