Okinawa Rail

The Okinawa Rail is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan where it is known as the Yanbaru Kuina . Its existence was only confirmed in 1978 and it was formally described in 1981 although unidentified rails had been recorded on the island since at least 1973 and local stories of a bird known as the agachi kumira may refer to this species.

Picture of the Okinawa Rail has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike.
Original source: WJMcBride
Author: WJMcBride

The Okinawa Rail is classified as Endangered (EN), considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

The Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus okinawae) is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan where it is known as the Yanbaru Kuina (ヤンバルクイナ(山原水鶏)?). Its existence was only confirmed in 1978 and it was formally described in 1981 although unidentified rails had been recorded on the island since at least 1973 and local stories of a bird known as the agachi kumira may refer to this species. More

They have no natural predators, and the Okinawa Rail is easy prey. It’s particularly ironic because habu are nocturnal and mongoose are diurnal, so it was a bad idea from the start. ” If the bird can’t fly and can’t defend itself, isn’t it just natural selection for it to disappear? “The Okinawan ecosystem has always been in a delicate balance. The natural predators of the Okinawa Rail – the habu and jungle crows – were only able to kill a small number of the birds. More

Okinawa Rail seen February 31, 2008 in Ada, Okinawa, Japan from YouTube on Thu, Feb 07 2008 see also: 14 Oct 07 visit Okinawa Dancers » YouTube videoOkinawa dances in a dog costume. More

By far the most conspicuous feature of the Okinawa rail is the vivid red colour of its bill and legs, which provide an exciting contrast against the black, white and brown plumage. Upperparts are olive-brown, while underparts are black, and strongly ... More

By far the most conspicuous feature of the Okinawa rail is the vivid red colour of its bill and legs, which provide an exciting contrast against the black, white and brown plumage. Upperparts are olive-brown, while underparts are black, and strongly barred with white from the lower neck to the tail. The sides of the head are also black, with a distinctive white stripe extending from the base of the eye down the side of the neck (3). More

color photo of the Okinawa Rail BirdOkinawae - of the Okinawae species - and lists its size, weight, and number in existence at the time of the advertisement. Dense evergreen hill forests on northern Okinawa Island in the East China Sea are stated as the animal's habitat range. Choji Gima is the photographer. Price: $10. More

The Okinawa Rail is a flightless bird that only lives on the main island of Okinawa. Their numbers became smaller because the mongoose and cat which people brought onto the island often attack them. More

Here in Ada, the Okinawa Rail – is a bird in danger of disappearing– and its habitat too. To save our hometown's precious Okinawa Rail, the student body at Ada Elementary School have been taking part in activities to produce food for the birds. We worked hard to make this food for them! We are even reading books on how to raise earthworms. This food preparation takes place all year round. More

species such as the Okinawa rail (Gallirallus okinawae) in the northern part of Okinawa, and its Japan Fiscal Year 2006 project was completed at the end of March 2007. Since the Northern Training Area of the U.S. facilities and areas were also included in its capturing sites, the JFY2006 project was implemented as a result of close cooperation among the Government of Japan and the United States Government. Through the period ending in March 2007, 106 mongooses were captured in the Northern Training Area. More

Woodpecker, Okinawa Rail, and other endangered species of Okinawa. We believe that the environmental legislation of the United States, such as the "National Environmental Policy Act" and the "Endangered Species Act," should act as the basis for assessing environmental impacts of the construction in Okinawa of United States military bases and of plans for military exercises utilizing those bases by the United States Marine Corps. More

the endangered Okinawa Rail, a bird found only on Okinawa. The Okinawa Rail is just one of approximately 20 threatened, endangered or protected species found in JWTC, according to the narrative. Students and staff are briefed prior to any exercises in the jungle about the variety of wildlife and instructed to leave it alone. "We just don't mess with the turtles," Percival said jokingly about the number of turtle species living in JWTC. More

The Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus okinawae) is a species of bird in the rail family Rallidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan. It is found only in Yambaru, the northern part of Okinawa Island in the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan. Its range is only 160 square miles. It is found from sea-level to the highest mountains at about 1630 feet above sea-level. Some birds may move lower in elevation and a little further south in the winter. More

The Okinawa rail, for instance, evolved on an island that had no carnivores so it did not have the ability to fly as a means of escape from predators. Thus, the Okinawa rail is easy prey for the mongooses and feral cats that have been introduced to the rail's traditional habitat by humans. Not only are the plants and animals of Okinawa extremely interesting and rare, they are also perhaps the most threatened by extinction. More

The Okinawa rail is a kind of water rail that does not have the ability to fly. In 1981, the discovery of this bird in Yambaru located in the northern part of the island of Okinawa was the first discovery of a new species of bird in Japan in 60 years. It lives near the forests in the northern part of the island of Okinawa. It is active during the day and sleeps in trees at night. It feeds on insects, snails, and earthworms. More

Order : Gruiformes
Family : Rallidae
Genus : Gallirallus
Species : okinawae
Authority : (Yamashina and Mano, 1981)