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7

Chestnut Rail (Eulabeornis castaneoventris) Alternate name(s): "Chestnut-bellied Rail" Size: 44-52 cm (male 52 cm) Weight: 600-800 g

Australia: Family Group 7 Family Group 7 Table Dusky Moorhen Australasian (Purple) Swamphen Black-tailed Native-hen Tasmanian Native-hen Pale-vented Bush-hen Eurasian Coot White-browed Crake Spotless Crake Baillon's Crake Australian Spotted Crake Lewin's Rail Buff-banded Rail Red-necked Crake Chestnut Rail White-breasted Waterhen Lord Howe Woodhen Australian Bustard Brolga Sarus Crane Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Chestnut Rails are large wetland birds. They are the largest of the crakes and rails of Australia. As the name suggests, their plumage is predominantly chestnut, while the head is grey, with a light-grey chin patch. They have red irises and a long yellow-green bill. The legs are yellowish, with thighs that are partly covered by chestnut feathers. There are two distinct morphologies: birds in the Top End of the NT have chestnut morphology, with all-chestnut body plumage. Birds found alon the Kimberley coast in WA have olive morphology, with an olive-grey back.

Taxonomy, classification See Chestnut Rail at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Chestnut Rail is available HERE . Chestnut Rails populate parts of eastern Indonesia and Australia. In Australia only Chestnut Rails of nominate race "castaneoventris" is found, which is endemic to the continent. They occur only in the tropical far North of the country. Their range extends along the North coast of the Kimberley, WA, eastward of King Sound, around the Top End of the NT to Arnhemland and western part of the South coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, plus some offshore islands within that range. The behaviour of Chestnut Rails is not well-known. They have a preference for mangroves, but the photos below show that they can occasionally also be found in riverine or estuarine habitats.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "castaneoventris" B. Hensen reports spotting a Chestnut Rail, race "castaneoventris", at Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, in March 2013. P. Brown reports spotting a Chestnut Rail, race "castaneoventris", at Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, in September 2019, and again in November 2019. M. Eaton also found Chestnut Rails, race "castaneoventris", at Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, in July 2020.

Photos

Race "castaneoventris"

Chestnut morphology

ADULT

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a Chestnut Rail in an intertidal wetland (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of a Chestnut Rail on leaf litter (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, September 2019]

Lateral view of a Chestnut Rail on a rocky river bank (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Lateral view of a Chestnut Rail wading in shallow water (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Chestnut Rail seen swimming, which is unusual (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a Chestnut Rail; this is one of the birds whose calls were recorded on 8 November 2019
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, November 2019]

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.

chsrail_me_20200720.m4a	castaneoventris (Darwin, NT)	? (Q&A)	© ME
chsrail_me_20200720_2.m4a	castaneoventris (Darwin, NT)	? (Q&A)	© ME
chsrail_pb_20191108.m4a	castaneoventris (Darwin, NT)	? (Q&A)	© PB

More Chestnut Rail sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 18 December 2020, 4:05 +00:00