The
Cocos Buff-banded Rail,
Gallirallus philippensis andrewsi, is an endangered subspecies of the
Buff-banded RailThe Buff-banded Rail, Gallirallus philippensis is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the family Rallidae....
endemic to the
Cocos (Keeling) IslandsThe Territory of Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia. There are two atolls and twenty-seven coral islands in the group...
, an Australian Offshore Territory in the central-eastern
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
. The local
Cocos MalayCocos Malays are a community that form the predominant group of the Cocos Islands, which is now part of Australia. Despite that they all have assimilated into the ethnic Malay culture, they are named in reference to the Malay race, coming from places such as Bali, Bima, Celebes, Madura, Sumbawa,...
name of the bird is
Ayam Hutan ("Chicken of the Forest").
This bird is now effectively limited to the 1.2 km²
North KeelingNorth Keeling is a small, uninhabited coral atoll of about 1.2 km
2, situated about 25 km north of Horsburgh Island. It is the northernmost atoll and island of the Australian territory of the Cocos Islands...
Island. It is still occasionally reported from the 26 islands comprising the Southern Atoll of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, where it was once common, but recent surveys have failed to find it.
The
Cocos Buff-banded Rail,
Gallirallus philippensis andrewsi, is an endangered subspecies of the
Buff-banded RailThe Buff-banded Rail, Gallirallus philippensis is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the family Rallidae....
endemic to the
Cocos (Keeling) IslandsThe Territory of Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia. There are two atolls and twenty-seven coral islands in the group...
, an Australian Offshore Territory in the central-eastern
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
. The local
Cocos MalayCocos Malays are a community that form the predominant group of the Cocos Islands, which is now part of Australia. Despite that they all have assimilated into the ethnic Malay culture, they are named in reference to the Malay race, coming from places such as Bali, Bima, Celebes, Madura, Sumbawa,...
name of the bird is
Ayam Hutan ("Chicken of the Forest").
Distribution and habitat
This bird is now effectively limited to the 1.2 km²
North KeelingNorth Keeling is a small, uninhabited coral atoll of about 1.2 km
2, situated about 25 km north of Horsburgh Island. It is the northernmost atoll and island of the Australian territory of the Cocos Islands...
Island. It is still occasionally reported from the 26 islands comprising the Southern Atoll of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, where it was once common, but recent surveys have failed to find it. It is apparently extinct throughout the Southern Atoll apart from occasional visits by birds dispersing from North Keeling, which are unable to establish viable populations.
On North Keeling the Rails occupy all the limited ground habitats on the island, including the shore of the lagoon and the understorey vegetation of
PisoniaPisonia is a genus of flowering plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. Certain species in this genus are known as Catchbirdtrees because their sticky seeds reportedly trap small birds. Such sticky seeds are postulated to be an evolutionary feature of some island species for...
forest and
Coconut palmsThe Coconut Palm is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaves 4–6 m long, pinnae 60–90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth. The term coconut refers to the seed of the...
.
Population size is estimated as 850-1000 birds, with a
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
of 7-8 birds/
haA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
.
Diet
The Rails are omnivorous, foraging over the ground throughout the island and the intertidal fringe of the central
lagoonA lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow salt or brackish water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral reef, or similar feature. Thus, the enclosed body of water behind a barrier reef or barrier islands or enclosed by an atoll reef is called a lagoon. This...
for
crustaceanCrustaceans are a very large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles...
s, molluscs,
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s,
wormThe term worm is used to describe many different distantly-related animals which have a long cylindrical body and no legs.Most animals called "worms" are invertebrates, but the term is also used for the amphibian caecilians and the slow worm Anguis, a legless burrowing lizard...
s, seeds, fruits,
eggsIn most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo. When the embryo is adequately developed it breaks out of the egg in the...
and
carrionCarrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters, or scavengers, include Hyenas, Vultures, Canadian Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, Black Bears, Komodo Dragons, Bald Eagles, Raccoons,...
, as well as
scavengingScavenging, or necrophagy, is a carnivorous feeding behaviour in which a predator consumes corpses or carrion that were not killed to be eaten by the predator or others of its species. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by contributing to the decomposition of dead animal remains...
the refuse of the seabird breeding colonies.
Conservation
The probable causes of
extinctionIn biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or group of taxa. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species...
on the islands of the Southern Atoll are
habitat clearanceHabitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms which previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose...
and
predationIn ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey, . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of the prey...
by introduced
mammalMammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose females are characterized by the possession of mammary glands while both males and females are characterized by sweat glands, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.Mammals are divided into three main...
s, including
feral catA feral cat is an unowned and untamed domestic cat. Feral cats are born in urban, suburban, or rural areas, and basically anywhere that people reside. They should not be confused with wildcats, as they are not wild animals. A stray cat , though unowned, still exhibits temperament similar to that...
s,
Black RatThe Black Rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae...
s and
humanHumans are bipedal primates belonging to the species Homo sapiens in Hominidae, the great ape family. They are the only surviving member of the genus Homo. Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving...
s, as well as competition with feral
junglefowlJunglefowl are the four living species of bird from the genus Gallus in the pheasant family, which occur in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia....
. Threats to the only remaining breeding population on North Keeling are the introduced
Yellow Crazy AntThe yellow crazy ant is a species of ant, introduced accidentally to northern Australia and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, and is a pest in both locations....
, the possibility of accidental introduction of terrestrial predators, and the impact of
cycloneIn meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate counter clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth.Large-scale...
s and
tsunamiA is a series of water waves that is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean. The original Japanese term literally translates as "harbor wave." Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded...
s. North Keeling is entirely contained within the Pulu Keeling National Park, but the island is so small that
reintroductionReintroduction is the deliberate release of species into the wild, from captivity or relocated from other areas where the species survives. It usually involves species that are endangered or extinct in the wild...
of the Rail to one or more of the southern islands, after habitat preparation, is envisaged as a precautionary measure. The Cocos Buff-banded Rail is classified as Endangered under Australia's
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places...
.
As the only bird taxon endemic to the Territory, the Cocos Buff-banded Rail has featured frequently on
postage stampA postage stamp is adhesive paper evidence of a fee paid for postal services. Usually a small rectangle attached to an envelope, the stamp signifies the person sending it has fully or partly paid for delivery...
s issued by the Australian Government for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.