Clapper Rail or Ridgeway's Rail? (Oakland, CA, USA) (1 Viewer)

[CalvinFold]

I live in California and one the places I go for animal photography in Oakland, along with the bird watchers who go there, make a HUGE deal about the clapper rails there.

What confuses me is: Wikipedia lists the Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans) as a species suffering habitat loss, but stable and not threatened. The park signs are quite old, but this is how they list them.

But given the big deal made by the bird watchers here, I did some digging, and the Ridgeway's Rail (Rallus obsoletus, aka, California Clapper Rail) appears to have been more recently split-off and is an endangered species, and it's largest habitat is right here around my home (San Francisco Bay Area).

So when I finally had someone point out one of these rails hiding along the shoreline, I snapped the photo below. Sorry for the quality, I horribly under-exposed it.

Was hoping someone here had the know-how to tell which rail (Ridgeway's Rail or a common Clapper Rail) I have here. I suspect a Ridgeway's based on my reading, but what do I know?

 

[nartreb]

The "Ridgway's" designation is very new.

http://blogs.kqed.org/science/2014/08/04/theres-a-new-bird-species-in-california-sort-of/

My books are older than July 2014, so I don't know how to distinguish Ridgway's from other rails. I have a hunch that geography will make it easy in many cases. As I understand it, anything in California that was once called a Clapper is now a Ridgway's. Since King Rail (now also split!) was never an option in California, you're safe calling it a Ridgway's as long as you can distinguish it from Virginia Rail, Sora, etc.

 

[njlarsen]

Here is one thread about these. I do not believe there is any doubt the California birds are Ridgway's

Niels

 

[Tiraya]

The California subspecies of clapper rail is what Ridgway's rail is now, so by default clapper rails in California should be Ridgway's.

Nice find by the way, I still haven't come across one...

 

[CalvinFold]

Here is one thread about these. I do not believe there is any doubt the California birds are Ridgway's

Based on this article at golden Gate Audubon (and supplemented, if simplified, by this one on Wikipedia), then I'm looking at what was formerly Rallus longirostris (not Rallus crepitans), and is now:

Rallus obsoletus, or more detailed perhaps, R. o. obsoletus (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus). Correct?

English name is still under some debate on the subspecies, as near as I can figure, so "Ridgeway's Rail" is close enough?

 

[Tiraya]

Based on this article at golden Gate Audubon (and supplemented, if simplified, by this one on Wikipedia), then I'm looking at what was formerly Rallus longirostris (not Rallus crepitans), and is now:

Rallus obsoletus, or more detailed perhaps, R. o. obsoletus (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus). Correct?

English name is still under some debate on the subspecies, as near as I can figure, so "Ridgeway's Rail" is close enough?

R. obsoletus is the current "Ridgway's Rail" yes. (note: no e after Ridg).

 

[CalvinFold]

Thanks for all the clarification. Sheesh, all I was trying to do was accurately put in the metadata for my gallery upload of this photo. LOL. |8.|

 

[AlexC]

No one's said this yet - but NICE PIC!

And yes, Clapper Rails in California are now Ridgway's Rails. Quite isolated in terms of range from Eastern Clapper, so there's no confusion.

 

[njlarsen]

Ridgway's Rail should have 4 subspecies, of which obsuletus is expected around the SF Bay.

Niels

 

[Nutcracker]

English name is still under some debate

Still think they should have translated the Latin, and made it Obsolete Rail o

 

[AlexC]

Still think they should have translated the Latin, and made it Obsolete Rail o

Well, a good view is obsolete, with the racket they make!

 

[Tiraya]

It's going to become one of the most misspelled birds in history I imagine!

 

[AlexC]

It's going to become one of the most misspelled birds in history I imagine!

Do the apostrophe "s" birds count as misspellings? If so, they're probably up there, too. Along with Vermilion Flycatcher with two "l"s.

 

[fugl]

Not to mention "Stellar's" Jay.

 

[Kratter]

Buff-collared Nightjar was formerly known as Ridgway's Whip-poor-will, so it isn't to unfamiliar to us old-timers

Andy

 

[Nutcracker]

It's going to become one of the most misspelled birds in history I imagine!

Do the apostrophe "s" birds count as misspellings? If so, they're probably up there, too. Along with Vermilion Flycatcher with two "l"s.

And missing umlauts on Krüper's and Rüppell's birds.

And let's not forget "Canadian" Goose.

 

[AlexC]

Not to mention "Stellar's" Jay.

Whenever I point them out to non-birding friends.

-Those are Steller's Jays.
-Stellar Jays! Whoa!
-No, well, er, they are stellar, but that's not the species name. It's the Jay named for Georg Wilhelm Steller. With an -e-r.
-George who?
-Georg Steller. With no -e. He was German.
-Why do you know all this?
-...

 

[Tiraya]

Whenever I point them out to non-birding friends.

-Those are Steller's Jays.
-Stellar Jays! Whoa!
-No, well, er, they are stellar, but that's not the species name. It's the Jay named for Georg Wilhelm Steller. With an -e-r.
-George who?
-Georg Steller. With no -e. He was German.
-Why do you know all this?
-...

That's more patience than I have with non-birders...

-"Steller's Jays"
-"cool"
/done.

Until they write them down on paper with the a then I correct them. Sounds the same when spoken anyway...

Technically I wasn't including apostrophes or accents but those are often done wrong too!

 

[AlexC]

Well this thread has certainly gone... off the RAILS

:king:33

I'll be here all week, folks

 

[Nutcracker]

< groan > @ AlexC :-O