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7

Lewin's Rail (Lewinia pectoralis) Alternate name(s): "Lewin Water-rail", "Slate-breasted Rail", "Short-toed Rail", "Pectoral Rail" Aboriginal name(s): Race "clelandi" (SW WA; extinct): "nooni" Size: 21-25 cm Weight: 75-100 g

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Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Lewin's Rails are small to medium-sized wetland birds. Their plumage is highly cryptic. Their breast is grey-brown, with a white throat. The belly, vent and undertail coverts are heavily barred, with dark-grey feathers showing white linings. The eyebrows and nape of the neck are chestnut, while the cap is chestnut with black stripes. The wings are dark-brown, with brown edging. The only minute difference between the sexes is that males have a more conspicuously chestnut crown and nape of the neck than females. Both sexes have red irises. Bill, legs and feet are brownish. Twitcher's tip Compared to Buff-banded Rails, Lewin's Rails have a much darker "jizz"; most notably, they lack the white eyebrow stripe of Buff-banded Rails.

Taxonomy, classification See Lewin's 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 Lewin's Rail is available HERE . All races of Lewin's Rail are endemic to Australia. While race "clelandi", which used to live in the south-western corner of WA, is extinct, the two remaining races can be found in narrow coastal fringes along the eastern and southern coast of the Australian continent and Tasmania. Nominate race "pectoralis" is found in a narrow coastal strip from Kangaroo Island and Adelaide, SA, to Melbourne, VIC, and all through the eastern part of VIC, via the ACT, towards the NSW coast including the Hunter estuary. The distribution along the NSW coast is patchy. They are found along the NSW north coast and in southern QLD up to about Fraser Island, towards the north of which they are scarce again. Another populated patch is found from the tropic of Capricorn northward, to about Cairns, QLD. Race "brachipus" is found only in the western half of Tasmania and on King Island and Flinders Island in the Bass Strait. Lewin's Rails tend to live in dense reeds around swamps, with a preference for coastal regions.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "pectoralis" C. Charles reports spotting Lewin's Rails, race "pectoralis", at Triangle Pond in Homebush, Sydney, NSW, in January 2009. B. Hensen reports spotting a single Lewin's Rail, race "pectoralis", at South Maroubra, NSW, in January 2017. M. Eaton reports finding a Lewin's Rail, race "pectoralis", at Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, in November 2019.

Photos

Race "pectoralis"

ADULT

MALE

Lateral view of a male(?) Lewin's Rail - note the conspicuous chestnut on crown and neck (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[South Maroubra, Sydney, NSW, January 2017]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Lewin's Rail - note how this bird's crown and neck are duller than above
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

Near-frontal view of a female Lewin's Rail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

Near-lateral view of a female Lewin's Rail (photo courtesy of C. Charles)
[Triangle Pond, Homebush, Sydney, NSW, January 2009]

Lateral view of a female Lewin's Rail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a female Lewin's Rail; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 23 November 2019
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

Behaviour

While Buff-banded Rails can sometimes be seen out in the open, Lewin's Rails are very secretive and will usually stay in dense vegetation in swampy areas.

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.

lewrail_me_20191123.m4a	pectoralis (SE QLD)	Contact calls + alarm?	© ME
lewrail_me_20191123_3.m4a	pectoralis (SE QLD)	Alarm calls?	© ME
lewrail_me_20191123_2.m4a	pectoralis (SE QLD)	Alarm calls? (+ Rainbow Lorikeet)	© ME

More Lewin's 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