Laysan rail

The **Laysan rail** or **Laysan crake** (*Zapornia palmeri*) is a flightless bird endemic to the Northwest Hawaiian Island of Laysan. It was once extinct since 1944 due to habitat loss by invasive rabbits and, ultimately, World War II, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and reintroduced to Laysan to help boost biodiversity. It is a small bird (15-centimetre (5.9 in) from beaktip to "tail" tip, fully stretched out), a flightless member of the rail family. Tail and wings have been reduced in the course of its evolution to lengths of merely 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) and 5.4 centimetres (2.1 in), respectively, and it only has 8 primaries as opposed to 10 in volant rails. The bill, measuring 1.8 centimetres (0.71 in), is strong and straight, and the legs are also well-developed; in its overall proportions it is similar to the small rails of the genus Laterallus, such as the black rail. The Layson rail is an opportunist that feeds mainly on invertebrates such as moths, Neoscatella sexnotata (brine flies), blowflies, and their larvae; plant leaves, seeds, and eggs and carcasses of seabirds are eaten when they are available. It is an aggressive bird that can fight off other species, particularly the Laysan finch: the latter is very adept at breaking open seabird's eggs to consume the contents, while the rail is much less so. Consequently, rails can linger around in the seabird colony, be on the lookout for finches which have just cracked open an egg, chase these away, and consume the egg's contents. On Midway, the rails are known to steal food from domestic chickens. There exists no permanent source of freshwater on Laysan, and while the rails have been able to cover their needs from the body fluids of prey and the content of eggs, they can eagerly drink from and bathe in pools of water remaining after heavy rain, or a pan of water provided by an observer. Although it is flightless, it uses its wings to assist in keeping balance when running quickly and jumping; this way, they are able to make jumps of somewhat less than 1 metre (3.3 ft). They are nimble and restless, retreating to the tussocks to avoid predators, but chiefly to escape the mid-day heat; if they feel threatened, they often hide in the burrows made by petrels. The birds are most active in the open in the morning and afternoon hours, but it can regularly be seen all day and heard calling at night. Laysan rails have no natural enemies apart from occasional predation by frigatebirds; all reports remarked upon its fearlessness, and if an observer stands still, rails can approach and even climb over him/her to search for scraps of food. One bird, removed from its nest in an attempt to photograph the eggs, can immediately return to protect her clutch. The species is somewhat territorial, more so during the breeding season. On Laysan, carrying capacity can reach around 10–13 square metres (110–140 sq ft) of habitat per bird, while on Midway, population density is one-fourth of this figure; in captivity, an enclosure of roughly 8 square metres (86 sq ft) is sufficient for two pairs, but introducing more birds into this space can lead to fights. When active, Laysan rails can so often stand still and utter one to three soft warbling chirps. In courtship or territorial defense, two birds stand opposing each other, fluffing up their plumage, and give rattling, scolding calls not unlike a mechanical alarm clock. Soon after dusk, the entire population can be heard to engage in a brief bout of vocalizations. Downy young vocalize a lot, and their calls are rather loud in proportion to their tiny size. The conservation status of the Laysan rail is **Vulnerable** due to some habitat loss, World War II, and both historic poaching and invasive species, however, thanks to conservationists, the Laysan rail is making a comeback.