#gruiform

Submitted for classification by @weirdyolk

"Fully mature pūkeko: Critter, creature or beast? Additionally, baby pūkeko: critter, creature or beast?"

Bar-Winged Rail by Von O. Finsch et al., in the Public Domain

Etymology: Island Thief

First Described By: Peters, 1932

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Gruiformes, Ralli, Rallidae

Referred Species: N. poecilopterus (Bar-Winged Rail), N. woodfordi (Woodford’s Rail)

Status: Extinct - Extant, Near Threatened

Time and Place: Between 12,000 years ago and today, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

These rails used to live on the island of Fiji, but today they’re only found on Guadacanal 

Physical Description: The Woodford’s and Bar-Winged Rails are fairly round, plump dinosaurs, with medium-length skinny legs. They have short tails, short necks, and small heads. Like other rails, they have pointed, triangular beaks. They are fairly dark in color, with brown wings and tails; beyond that, however, they differ distinctively in terms of color. They range in size from about 30 to 33 centimeters in length.

Diet: These rails will feed upon worms, snails, insects, frogs, lizards, and small snakes. They will also feed on plant shoots when needed.

Behavior: Given their limited range - and the fact that one species is extinct - little is known about the behavior of these rails, though presumably they use their long legs to walk through dense undergrowth and soft mud. The living Woodford’s Rail breeds at any time of the year, and they do not migrate. The extinct Bar-Winged Rail would have probably nested from October through December, making nest of sedge with six eggs - but of course, we can’t corroborate that in the modern day. Today, Woodford’s Rail makes unmusical ki-ki-ki notes, as well as explosive squeals when provoked. 

Woodford's Rail, by John Gerrard Keulemans, in the Public Domain

Ecosystem: These birds live (or lived) in lowland rainforest and swamp-forests, usually in fairly remote locations. They are preyed upon by predators introduced by humans - cats and mongoose - in unsustainable numbers.

Other: The Bar-Winged Rail went extinct sometime in the 1900s, presumably due to its flightlessness - though adapted well for its habitat on an island devoid of predators, human introduction of mongoose and cats to the islands lead to their population decline and eventual elimination. The Woodford’s Rail, meanwhile, is restricted to a single island - so it is considered near threatened due to a very small population, at risk from introduced predators. As always, cats are a major threat for these birds. It is also vulnerable to habitat degradation. Luckily, there does seem to be some population increase for this species on the northern coast of the island of Guadacanal.

Species Differences: When alive, the Bar-Winged Rail was brown on top and dark grey on bottom, with a black rump. Its beak and legs were yellow. It was bigger, and probably flightless, and lived entirely on the island of Fiji. Woodford’s Rail lives in Guadacanal and is black over more of its body, with a gray face, grey beak, and white-black stripes on its rump. It is the smaller of the two species.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the Cut