Rallus philippensis pelewensis (Mayr)
Banded Rail
Hypotaenidia philippensis pelewensis Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 609, 1933, p. 3. (Type locality, Palau Islands.)
Rallus philippensis Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 831 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 37 (Palau); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877, p. 587 (Palau); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 59 (Pelew); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum Schulze der Vogelwelt, 18, 1893, p. 459, Palau).
Rallus pectoralis Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 8, 117, 118 (Pelew); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 107 (Pelew).
Eulabeornis forsteri Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p. 57 (Pelew).
Hypotaenidia philippensis Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 261 (Pelew); Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 23, 1894, p. 39 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 42 (Pelew).
Eulabeornis philippensis? Mathews, Birds Australia, 1, 1910-1911, p. 199 (Pelew).
Hypotaenidia philippinensis philippensis Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 196 (Palau).
Rallus philippensis pelewensis Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 220 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 287 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 48 (Peleliu, Garakayo).
Geographic range.—Micronesia: Palau Islands—Babelthuap, Koror, Arakabesan, Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur.
Characters.—Adult: A large, slender rail with black crown streaked with brown; superciliary stripe ashy-gray, lighter toward bill; eye stripe brown becoming more rufous behind eye and on nape; chin ashy-gray; throat near "mouse gray" tinged with olive especially toward breast; breast, belly and sides barred with black and white, with a broad "tawny" band on breast; posterior part of belly and vent buffy with some barring; under tail-coverts barred with black, white, and buff; mantle black with feathers subterminally barred with white; back, scapulars, inner wing-coverts, and rump black with white spotting and feathers edged with olive brown; outer wing-coverts, secondaries, and primaries barred with black and rufous with some buffy-white on outer webs; under wing barred black and white with some brownish markings; tail with both bars and blotches of black, white, and buffy-rufous; maxilla horn-colored; mandible yellowish; feet light brown.
R. p. pelewensis resembles R. p. philippensis Linnaeus of the Philippines, but is darker with nape more rufous-brown; upper parts marked with narrower and darker edgings to feathers and with pronounced whitish spotting.
Resembles R. p. chandleri (Mathews) of Celebes, but with wing shorter; more pronounced band on breast; bird darker above and below; rump and upper tail-coverts less spotted.
Measurements.—Specimens in the collection of the United States National Museum measure as follows: four adult males—wing, 130-134 (132); tail, 59-63 (61); full culmen, 30-37 (34); tarsus, 38-45 (43); four adult females—wing, 125-130 (127); tail, 54-61 (58); full culmen, 29-35 (32); tarsus, 38-42 (40). Mayr (1933c:4) lists the following measurements: twelve adult males—127-143 (134.6); tail, 54-65 (60); exposed bill, 25-28 (27.7); tarsus, 41-46 (43.5); three adult females—wing, 129, 136, 136; tail, 56, 57, 58; exposed bill, 23, 24, 25; tarsus, 40, 41, 42.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 27 (18 males, 9 females), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM—Garakayo, 4 (Sept. 18, 19, 20)—Peleliu, 4 (Aug. 27, 28, Sept. 16)—Arakabesan, 1 (Nov. 26); AMNH—exact locality not given, 18 (Oct., Nov., Dec.).
Nesting.—The condition of the gonads in specimens obtained indicates that the breeding season is principally in the fall and winter. Of adult rails taken by Coultas in October, November and December, 1931, 6 of 12 males and 3 or 4 females had enlarged gonads. In September, 1945, the NAMRU2 party obtained two adult males with swollen testes. Marshall (1949:219) recorded breeding in September and November.
Food habits.—Stomachs of rails obtained by the NAMRU2 party contained insects, seeds and small mollusks. Coultas (field notes) notes that the birds eat snails, roots and other vegetable matter.
Remarks.—Rallus philippensis is geographically widespread, being found from Tasmania and Australia north to Malaysia and the Philippines west to Cocos Keeling Island east to Melanesia and western Polynesia and north to the Palau Islands. The species is divisible into several subspecies. The one in the Palaus, although distinctive, does not appear to have undergone a higher degree of differentiation (even though isolated as a small population) than any of the subspecies in Malaysia or Melanesia. Perhaps the form on Palau as well as the relatively undifferentiated Poliolimnas cinereus are rather recent invaders of Micronesia, as compared with Rallus owstoni and Aphanolimnas monasa.
The Banded Rail is less secretive in habits than Rallus owstoni of Guam, and neither was seen to fly. At Angaur, Peleliu and Garakayo, the NAMRU2 party found the rail in areas of swamp and marsh as well as in the rocky uplands; it probably prefers the former habitats. Several rails were observed and shot in open places, but they probably prefer to remain in dense cover. Coultas found the birds at taro patches and swamps. I watched a rail feeding along an open trail on Garakayo. The bird was eating small mollusks and other items which were in the open area. Being a true skulker, the bird would make a quick dash to the feeding place, remain only a few moments, hurriedly return to the protective cover, and then repeat the process. The best means that I found of obtaining these birds was using traps baited with peanut butter and oatmeal. The traps had to be visited frequently or the ants made short work of the captured birds.