Lincoln Park Zoo

Common name: Guam rail
Latin Name: Rallus owstoni

Class: Birds
Order:    Gruiformes

Description
A flightless bird, the Guam rail is mostly dark brown with white stripes on its belly. Its compact body enables the species to move rapidly through dense vegetation.

Range
The endangered Guam rail once flourished on Guam but is extinct there due to the introduction of the brown tree snake. A small number of birds from an experimental breeding program live on Rota, an island just south of Guam.

Status
Extinct in the wild. Once present in the hundreds of thousands, the Guam rail was wiped out on its native island by the introduction of the brown tree snake. The bird, lacking a predator before the snake arrived, had evolved to become flightless and build its nest on the ground. These traits made eggs and chicks easy prey for the snake. Lincoln Park Zoo participates in the Guam Rail Species Survival Plan®, a shared conservation effort by zoos throughout the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Habitat
South Pacific island grasslands

Niche
The Guam rail hunts snails, insects and lizards. The species is territorial and will aggressively defend its home range against other birds.

Life History
Guam rails build their nests on the ground, shaping plant stems and dried grasses into a cup-shaped structure. Chicks are cared for by both parents and leave the nest within a month of hatching.

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