Description
It is a large, 330–400 mm (13–16 in) long, flightless rail. Both sexes are similar in color, dark slate-grey with darker brown wing and tail plumage, bare red orbital skin, long reddish orange bill and legs. The undersurface is somewhat lighter in color. It makes a low drumming sound with loud screams. It is superficially similar to the Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) and Calayan Rail (Gallirallus calayanensis). It is different from the Purple Swamphen in its markings, which has been recently discovered to also reside in Halmahera, though is has been known to reside elsewhere for thousands of years. It is different from the Calayan Rail in that it is larger and some markings are different. Confusion with both these species is likely. Of 26 bird species whose range is solely “Northern Maluku Endemic Bird Area”, the Invisible Rail is one of eight threatened species.
Read more about this topic: Invisible Rail
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