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7

Lord Howe Woodhen

(Gallirallus sylvestris)
: "Lord Howe Island Woodhen", "Lord Howe (Island) Rail"
Size: 34-42 cm (male), 32-37 cm (female); wing span 45-50 cm
Weight: 350-750 g

Description

Classification

Distribution

Sightings

Photos

Breeding

Nest

Eggs

Behaviour

Food

Call/s

Physical description

Click here for physical description of this species Click here for a physical description

Lord Howe Woodhens are medium-sized rails. Their plumage is mostly greyish-brown, except for the head and throat, which are grey. The irises are dark, the bill is grey, with a flesh-coloured base and lower mandible. The legs and feet are also greyish to flesh-coloured.

Twitcher's tip

Although outwardly not very similar, the Lord Howe Woodhen's closest relative on the Australian continent is the Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis).

Taxonomy, classification

See Lord Howe Woodhen 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 Lord Howe Woodhen is available HERE .

As its name suggests, the Lord Howe Woodhen is endemic to Lord Howe Island, which is located about 600 km East of the Australian East coast, at the same geographic latitude (of -31.5 degrees) as Port Macquarie, NSW. As of 2015, there are about 250 Lord Howe Woodhens in total (up from just 15 birds in 1980). They are flightless and therefore vulnerable to predation and habitat destruction (by feral pigs).

Lord Howe Woodhens have a preference for leaf litter under dense forest.

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

C. Kellenberg reports spotting a Lord Howe Woodhen on Lord Howe Island in July 2010.

B. Hensen found Lord Howe Woodhens on Lord Howe Island in November 2014.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Lord Howe Woodhen (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lord Howe Island, November 2014]

Near-frontal view of a Lord Howe Woodhen (photo courtesy of C. Kellenberg)
[Lord Howe Island, July 2010]

Near-dorsal view of a Lord Howe Woodhen (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lord Howe Island, November 2014]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Adult Lord Howe Woodhen, left, with a juvenile (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lord Howe Island, November 2014]

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.

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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: Mon, 25 February 2019, 19:09 +00:00