Newsletter / Blog
2012-03-09 Smallest flightless bird?
The smallest
flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island Rail with an average weight
of 30 g and a length of 17 cm.
The Inaccessible
Island Rail - Atlantisia rogersi - is endemic to Inaccessible Island,
an island in the Tristan Archipelago of the South Atlantic
Ocean. This rail is found throughout the Island but prefers areas
where vegetation, boulders or other landscape features at ground level provide
tunnels in which to shelter and to breed.
Description
A small, dark
rail. Dark grey on underparts and dark rusty-brown on upperparts. Short black
bill, greyish legs and red eye. Immature is overall brownish in colour with
dark eye. Adults show various degrees of white barring on flanks and belly.
Food
It forages in
every available habitat including very short vegetation, boulder beaches and
marshy areas. Its diet includes Insects, earthworms, berries and seeds.
Breeding
Two eggs are laid
between October and January.
Conservation Status – Vulnerable
It qualifies as vulnerable
because, although abundant, it is restricted to one tiny island.
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