Yamilet Martinez

Period 4
Galapagos crake
The galapagos crake ​Also known as Darwin’s Rail, Galapagos Rail (​Laterallus 
spilonotus​) is endemic to the Galapagos Islands (BirdLife International 2012). 
Galapagos Rail occurs on the islands Fernandina, Floreana, Isabela, Pinta, Santa Cruz, 
Santiago, and San Cristobal (Franklin et al. 1979, BirdLife International 2012). Preferring 
the dense moist-zone vegetation found in the highland regions of these islands, 
Galapagos Rail is a diminutive, diurnal insectivore (Franklin et al. 1979). Galapagos Rail 
populations have suffered from the introduction of grazing ungulates that reduce the 
area of preferred habitat (Weber 1971, Franklin et al. 1979). 
Galapagos Rail is primarily insectivorous (Franklin et al. 1979). An analysis of five 
gut contents and ten fecal samples from Galapagos Rails revealed ants, dragonflies, 
moths, various hemipterans, isopods, spiders, amphipods, isopods, and snails in the 
diet (Franklin et al. 1979). Seeds from the shrub ​Miconia robinsoniana​ were found in one 
gut sample and seeds from an unidentified solanaceous berry were found in one 
juvenile collected on Santiago Island (Franklin et al. 1979). Galapagos Rail forages as it 
walks by darting its head from side to side, each time picking up and tossing aside leaf 
litter with its bill and pecking any invertebrate prey that was subsequently revealed 
(Franklin et al. 1979). 
Galapagos Rail is primarily diurnal and spends most of its time foraging in dense 
undergrowth, investigating the leaf litter for invertebrates (Franklin et al. 1979). 
Galapagos Rail is able to fly and swim, but is not a strong flyer, preferring to walk along 
well-traveled runways made in the undergrowth vegetation, and usually walks or runs on 
the ground even when fleeing from danger (Franklin et al. 1979). Adult rails flee by 
sprinting in a zig-zag pattern towards the nearest dense vegetation (Franklin et al. 
1979). 
Galapagos Rail exhibits foot-stamping and tail-erection displays (Franklin et al. 
1979). Foot stamping is an aggressive territorial defense display. During foot-stamping 
the bird walks in place, raising one foot while lowering the other with the legs bent 
slightly but without the toes leaving the ground. The foot-stamping display takes two 
levels of intensity, slow or fast. During fast foot-stamping the body is tilted forward and 
brought low to the ground. Galapagos Rail form monogamous pairs during their 
breeding season and parents share incubation duties (Franklin et al. 1979). It is not 
known whether Galapagos Rail remain paired year round or if pairs dissolve following 
breeding. 
Adult parents lead a group of chicks or juveniles, and the group may split into two 
groups, with each adult leading a number of the chicks/juveniles. Chicks follow adult 
parents and receive food from them until they reach maturity. Juveniles forage for 
 themselves, but do remain in a family group with their parents until they are nearly 
adult-sized. A family of Galapagos Rails moves as a group through vegetation, with both 
chicks and adults constantly cheeping to remain in constant contact with each other.