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Buff-banded RailAlternate name(s): "Banded Landrail", "Buff-banded Landrail", "Landrail", "Painted Rail", "Pectoral Rail", "Corn-crake", "Little Tarler Bird" ![]() Size: 28-32 cm Weight: 150-210 g |
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Similar |
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Photos |
Race "mellori"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Frontal view of a Buff-banded Rail (photo courtesy of
E.
Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, January 2016]
Frontal view of a Buff-banded Rail looking sideways
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2015]
Frontal view of a Buff-banded Rail looking sideways
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, September 2020]
Near-frontal view of a Buff-banded Rail shaking itself
(photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Broadbeach, Gold Coast, QLD, March 2014]
Near-lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail looking sideways
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Moggill Wetlands, Moggill, QLD, December 2022]
Near-lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Moggill Wetlands, Moggill, QLD, December 2022]
Lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail
(photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Kuranda Wildlife Park near Cairns, QLD, April 2012]
Lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2015]
Lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2020]
Lateral view of a very scruffy-looking, possibly moulting,
Buff-banded Rail (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Broadbeach, Gold Coast, QLD, March 2014]
Lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Moggill Wetlands, Moggill, QLD, January 2018]
Lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail swimming near the edge of a
lake
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, May 2012]
Near-dorsal view of a Buff-banded Rail
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Moggill Wetlands, Moggill, QLD, December 2022]
Dorsal view of a Buff-banded Rail
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Moggill Wetlands, Moggill, QLD, January 2018]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Adult Buff-banded Rail, right, with juvenile in tow (photo
courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lover's Bay, Lord Howe Island, November 2014]
Juvenile Buff-banded Rail (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lover's Bay, Lord Howe Island, November 2014]
Adult Buff-banded Rail with two of in total five chicks (photo
courtesy of R. Druce)
[Queen Mary Falls, near Killarney, QLD, October 2015]
Race "tounelieri"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Frontal view of a Buff-banded Rail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lady Musgrave Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, September 2017]
Near-frontal view of a Buff-banded Rail (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]
Lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]
Lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail (photo courtesy of H. Mouritsen)
[One Tree Island, Capricornia Cays NP, QLD, January 2011]
Near-dorsal view of a Buff-banded Rail (photo courtesy of H. Mouritsen)
[One Tree Island, Capricornia Cays NP, QLD, January 2011]
Dorsal view of a Buff-banded Rail (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]
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Breeding information |
Breeding season: Aug - Dec | Eggs: 5 - 8 | Incubation period: 18 - 19 days | Fledging age: precocial |
Depending on geographic latitude and conditions, Buff-banded Rails can in principle breed any time of the year; the period indicated in the table above is the core breeding season. In inland areas their breeding cycle will be dominated by rainfall events, in the tropical North it will be during the dry season.
Nest building: ? | Incubation: Female & male | Dependent care: Female & male |
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
Type: Basket | Material: Reeds, grass stems | Height above ground: N/A |
Buff-banded Rail hatchling (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lover's Bay, Lord Howe Island, November 2014]
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Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay] |
Size: 36 x 28 mm | Colour: Creamy, with mid- to dark-brown speckles | Shape: Oval |
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Behaviour |
Buff-banded Rails are secretive birds that tend to stay in dense cover, especially in broad daylight. It is often easier to find them in overcast and/or rainy conditions, because in bad light they will occasionally venture into more open country. However, they are not as secretive as Lewin's Rails.
Buff-banded Rails can sometimes appear in unexpected places -
this one is foraging by the side of a gravel road
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2015]
It always comes as a surprise to us that aquatic birds also
sometimes need to take a bath, here a Buff-banded Rail doing
so (photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Mount Molloy, QLD, November 2012]
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Food, Diet |
Buff-banded Rails are omnivores that feed primarily on small animals, seeds and plant material. They also scavenge, both for carrion and rubbish.
Lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail with its prey, a beetle
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Moggill Wetlands, Moggill, QLD, December 2022]
This Buff-banded Rail has found a small meal
(photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Broadbeach, Gold Coast, QLD, March 2014]
Buff-banded Rail with its small prey
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Fogg Dam CR,
NT, August 2021]
Near-lateral view of a Buff-banded Rail digging up small prey from mud
under leaf litter
(photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, August 2023]
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Call(s)/Song |
For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The
interpretation of their meaning is our own;
comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.
bubrail_aa_20181105.m4a | (ACT) | Calling for a mate | © AA | |
bubrail_20221221.mp3 | (NW NSW) | In-flight call? | © MD |
More Buff-banded Rail sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.