The chestnut rail (Gallirallus castaneoventris) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is the largest rail in its habitat, and has two color morphs.

Taxonomy

The chestnut rail was formerly placed in the genus Eulabeornis.

It has two described subspecies, G. c. sharpei of the Aru Islands, and G. c. castaneoventris of northern Australia.

Description

The chestnut rail is the largest rail in its habitat. The sexes are similar but males are larger than females, with the male being long and weighing while the female weighs . It has a long tail, greenish bill, and pale yellow or green legs. The underparts are a pinkish-brown color, varying in brightness. In the olive color morph, the upperparts are more olive-brown colored while in the chestnut color morph they are a dark brown.

Behavior

The chestnut rail mainly feeds on crustaceans, but will also consume small molluscs, insects, and centipedes.

Their nests are shaped into platforms and range in size from 35–50cm in diameter, and 5–10cm in depth. They are built in mangrove trees out of predominantly mangrove sticks, along with some leaves and seedlings. Clutch size ranges from 2–5 eggs per brood. In dimensions, three eggs of one clutch were about while one egg from a different clutch was . The chicks are a dark brown and leave the nest soon after hatching.

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