_Hypotaenidia philippensis pelewensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no.
609, 1933, p. 3. (Type locality, Palau Islands.)
_Rallus philippensis_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867
(1868), p. 831 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875,
pp. 5, 37 (Palau); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877, p. 587
(Palau); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden,
no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 59 (Pelew); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum
Schulze der Vogelwelt, 18, 1893, p. 459, Palau).
_Rallus pectoralis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1868, pp. 8, 117, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1872, pp. 89, 107 (Pelew).
_Eulabeornis forsteri_ Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p.
57 (Pelew).
_Hypotaenidia philippensis_ Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 3,
1882, p. 261 (Pelew); Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 23,
1894, p. 39 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 42 (Pelew).
_Eulabeornis philippensis?_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 1,
1910-1911, p. 199 (Pelew).
_Hypotaenidia philippinensis philippensis_ Hand-list Japanese
Birds, rev., 1932, p. 196 (Palau).
_Rallus philippensis pelewensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 220 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, p. 287 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no.
15, 1948, p. 48 (Peleliu, Garakayo).
_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror,
Arakabesan, Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur.
_Characters._--Adult: A large, slender rail with black crown
streaked with brown; superciliary stripe ashy-gray, lighter toward
bill; eye stripe brown becoming more rufous behind eye and on
nape; chin ashy-gray; throat near "mouse gray" tinged with olive
especially toward breast; breast, belly and sides barred with
black and white, with a broad "tawny" band on breast; posterior
part of belly and vent buffy with some barring; under tail-coverts
barred with black, white, and buff; mantle black with feathers
subterminally barred with white; back, scapulars, inner
wing-coverts, and rump black with white spotting and feathers
edged with olive brown; outer wing-coverts, secondaries, and
primaries barred with black and rufous with some buffy-white on
outer webs; under wing barred black and white with some brownish
markings; tail with both bars and blotches of black, white, and
buffy-rufous; maxilla horn-colored; mandible yellowish; feet light
brown.
_R. p. pelewensis_ resembles _R. p. philippensis_ Linnaeus of the
Philippines, but is darker with nape more rufous-brown; upper
parts marked with narrower and darker edgings to feathers and with
pronounced whitish spotting.
Resembles _R. p. chandleri_ (Mathews) of Celebes, but with wing
shorter; more pronounced band on breast; bird darker above and
below; rump and upper tail-coverts less spotted.
_Measurements._--Specimens in the collection of the United States
National Museum measure as follows: four adult males--wing, 130-134
(132); tail, 59-63 (61); full culmen, 30-37 (34); tarsus, 38-45
(43); four adult females--wing, 125-130 (127); tail, 54-61 (58);
full culmen, 29-35 (32); tarsus, 38-42 (40). Mayr (1933c:4) lists
the following measurements: twelve adult males--127-143 (134.6);
tail, 54-65 (60); exposed bill, 25-28 (27.7); tarsus, 41-46 (43.5);
three adult females--wing, 129, 136, 136; tail, 56, 57, 58; exposed
bill, 23, 24, 25; tarsus, 40, 41, 42.
_Specimens examined._--Total number, 27 (18 males, 9 females), as
follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Garakayo, 4 (Sept. 18, 19,
20)--Peleliu, 4 (Aug. 27, 28, Sept. 16)--Arakabesan, 1 (Nov. 26);
AMNH--exact locality not given, 18 (Oct., Nov., Dec.).
_Nesting._--The condition of the gonads in specimens obtained
indicates that the breeding season is principally in the fall and
winter. Of adult rails taken by Coultas in October, November and
December, 1931, 6 of 12 males and 3 or 4 females had enlarged
gonads. In September, 1945, the NAMRU2 party obtained two adult
males with swollen testes. Marshall (1949:219) recorded breeding in
September and November.
_Food habits._--Stomachs of rails obtained by the NAMRU2 party
contained insects, seeds and small mollusks. Coultas (field notes)
notes that the birds eat snails, roots and other vegetable matter.
_Remarks._--_Rallus philippensis_ is geographically widespread, being
found from Tasmania and Australia north to Malaysia and the Philippines
west to Cocos Keeling Island east to Melanesia and western Polynesia and
north to the Palau Islands. The species is divisible into several
subspecies. The one in the Palaus, although distinctive, does not appear
to have undergone a higher degree of differentiation (even though
isolated as a small population) than any of the subspecies in Malaysia
or Melanesia. Perhaps the form on Palau as well as the relatively
undifferentiated _Poliolimnas cinereus_ are rather recent invaders of
Micronesia, as compared with _Rallus owstoni_ and _Aphanolimnas monasa_.
The Banded Rail is less secretive in habits than _Rallus owstoni_ of
Guam, and neither was seen to fly. At Angaur, Peleliu and Garakayo, the
NAMRU2 party found the rail in areas of swamp and marsh as well as in
the rocky uplands; it probably prefers the former habitats. Several
rails were observed and shot in open places, but they probably prefer to
remain in dense cover. Coultas found the birds at taro patches and
swamps. I watched a rail feeding along an open trail on Garakayo. The
bird was eating small mollusks and other items which were in the open
area. Being a true skulker, the bird would make a quick dash to the
feeding place, remain only a few moments, hurriedly return to the
protective cover, and then repeat the process. The best means that I
found of obtaining these birds was using traps baited with peanut butter
and oatmeal. The traps had to be visited frequently or the ants made
short work of the captured birds.
=Rallus owstoni= (Rothschild)