California Clapper Rail

The California Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) is an endangered subspecies of the Clapper Rail (R. longirostris). It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay, and also in Monterey Bay and Morro Bay. A member of the rail family, Rallidae, it is a chicken-sized bird that rarely flies. Like other subspecies of Clapper Rail, this form has a long, downward curving bill and is grayish brown with a pale chestnut breast and con... more

The California Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) is an endangered subspecies of the Clapper Rail (R. longirostris). It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay, and also in Monterey Bay and Morro Bay. A member of the rail family, Rallidae, it is a chicken-sized bird that rarely flies. Like other subspecies of Clapper Rail, this form has a long, downward curving bill and is grayish brown with a pale chestnut breast and conspicuous whitish rump patch. The population levels of the California Clapper Rail are precariously low due to destruction of its coastal and estuarine marshland habitat by prior land development and shoreline fill. It has year-long, circadian activity and is most vocal nocturnally and crepuscularly. The California Clapper Rail forages at the upper end of marshes, along the ecotone between mudflat and higher vegetated zones, and in tidal sloughs. Mussels, clams, arthropods, snails, worms and small fish are its preferred foods, which it... less