Other Names (World)
Lewin's Rail, Water Rail, Lewin's Water Rail, Slate-breasted Rail, Slate-breasted Water Rail, Pectoral Rail, Pectoral Water Rail, Short-toed Rail, Short-toed Water Rail
Nest
Open, composed of dried, coarse grass-stalks, low in a tussock of grass.
Eggs (Guide)
4 - 6; cream with blotches of red-brown and purple-grey; oval; about 35 x 26 mm. Incubation: about 19 - 21 days; by female.
Young
Precocial, nidifugous.
Subspecies
Lewin's Rail (Lewinia pectoralis) and Auckland Rail (Lewinia muelleri) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) are retained as separate species contra Turbott (1990) who include muelleri as a subspecies of Lewin's Rail (Lewinia pectoralis). This treatment is under review by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group.
Forms superspecies with Brown-banded Rail (Lewinia mirifica) and Auckland Rail (Lewinia muelleri), both of which are on occasion considered subspecies of this species.
The following 9 subspecies are recognised:
pectoralis (Temminck, 1831) - Southern Qld, NSW, Vic., SA, Australia.
exsul (Hartert, 1898) - Flores (Lesser Sundas).
mayri (Hartert, 1930) - Arfak Mts, western New Guinea.
capta (Mayr and Gilliard, 1951) - Central New Guinea.
insulsa (Greenway, 1935) - Herzog Mts, eastern New Guinea.
alberti (Rothschild & Hartert, 1907) - Mountains of south-eastern New Guinea.
clelandi! (Mathews, 1911) - South-western Australia (probably extinct).
brachipus (Swainson, 1838) - Tasmania.
muelleri (Rothschild, 1893) - Auckland Islands (Adams and Disappointment). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Auckland Rail (Lewinia muelleri).
Similar Species
Adults and juveniles with Buff-banded Rail (Hypotaenidia philippensis) which is larger and bulkier with a longer tail and a shorter, stouter, red-brown bill, white eyebrow, buff breasted, and undertail more boldly barred black and white and Australian Spotted Crake (Porzana fluminea) which is slightly smaller, more compact, with a shorter neck, longer tail, short stout greenish bill, and greenish legs and feet.
References
See References.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9