# Clapper Rail

Scientific name: Rallus crepitans

Bird group: [rail](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/rail)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/100/Clapper-Rail

## Identification

The clapper rail (Rallus crepitans) is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined.  The Ridgway's rail (formerly the California clapper rail) and the mangrove rail have been recently split.  Furthermore, some taxonomists consider that the King rail and Aztec rail should be considered within this group, as those birds look similar and the birds are known to interbreed where they share territories.
The clapper rail is a chicken-sized bird that rarely flies. It is grayish brown with a pale chestnut breast and a noticeable white patch under the tail. Its bill curves slightly downwards.


## Distribution and habitat

The Clapper Rail occurs from the coastal United States south 
through South America including 
the West Indies (Raffaele and 
others 1998). It is a locally 
common resident in Puerto Rico 
(Raffaele 1983), especially on 
mangroves and salt fl ats along 
the coast (Oberle 2018, Raffale 
1989a), and fairly common in 
Vieques (Gemmill 2015). The 
Clapper Rails habitat includes 
mostly salt marshes, mangroves 
(Raffaele and others 1998), and 
mudfl ats (Oberle 2018). It also 
occurs in pairs or small groups 
on offshore mangrove cays (J.A. Salguero-Faría, personal 
observation 2009). The atlas 
fieldwork yielded a total of 86 
records within 55 hexagons or 11 
percent of the 479 total hexagons 
(see map). Of the 55 hexagons 
where this species was found, 
breeding met the atlas definition 
of confirmed in 5 percent (3) 
of the hexagons, probable in 
20 percent (11), and possible in 
75 percent (41) (see map). Clapper Rail distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in 
Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.

## Breeding

The Clapper Rail builds a platform nest of sticks among 
mangrove roots, and breeding 
season extends from April to       91Clapper Rail/Pollo de MangleMay, according to previously published reports (Raffaele 
and others 1998). Atlas results 
indicate that the breeding 
season for this species extends 
throughout the year and peaks 
in May (see chart). Results show 
that this species is confined to 
the coast and breeds within the 
subtropical dry and subtropical 
moist forest life zones (73 and 
27 percent of the hexagons, 
respectively), and it is closely associated with mangroves (e.g., 
note abundance of south and 
southwest coastal records in 
contrast to the north coast where 
mangroves are patchy, with the 
exception of Piñones, east of San 
Juan) (see table and map).

## Conservation

Overall, Clapper Rail population trends are decreasing worldwide 
due to habitat loss, but it is listed as a species of least concern by 
the IUCN (BirdLife International 
2016). Locally, this species is 
not listed under any of the 
threatened categories. In Puerto 
Rico, the Clapper Rail has a 
protected habitat in land of 13 
percent or 169 km2 of the total area covered by the hexagons 
where evidence of breeding 
was found for this species 
(1315 km2). 

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_100_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_100_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.