- Mustelirallus cerverai
Cyanolimnas cerverai
Identifcation
Very uniform with brownish upperside, most of the underside grayish and white undertail coverts. Legs and iris are red, bill is green with red spot at the base. Lack obvious spots and barring, which other rails and crakes in the area should show.
Distribution
 |
Zapata Swamp of southwestern Cuba (endemic). |
| Legend • C. cerverai; year-round |
This species is critically endangered (possibly extinct) with the blame placed on two introduced species:---a catfish and the Small Indian Mongoose (Urva auropunctata).
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Freshwater sawgrass savannas with bushes.
Behaviour
Very little is known about this species except that it virtually (or perhaps literally) never flies. The voice has been described as reminding of a bouncing ball (Raffaele et al, Birds of the West Indies).
Conservation Concern
This species is endangered, possibly due to regular burning of the Zapata Swamp or introduced predators.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Raffaele, Herbert et al. 2003. Birds of the West Indies. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN 9780691113197
- Birdlife International news story including the threats to the survival of this species.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Zapata Rail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Zapata_Rail
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
