Bird Album
Invisible Rail
Gallirallus wallacii (Gray, GR, 1861)
33–40 cmLength1 kgWeight
The invisible rail, Wallace's rail, or drummer rail (Gallirallus wallacii) is a large flightless rail that is endemic to the island of Halmahera in Northern Maluku, Indonesia, where it inhabits impenetrable sago swamps adjacent to forests.
Most records: Indonesia
Where and when it's recorded
Invisible Rail has been recorded at 2 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- TN Aketajawe-Lolobata – Pak Roji'sIndonesia14 records
- Foli – old logging trackIndonesia3 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The invisible rail, Wallace's rail, or drummer rail (Gallirallus wallacii) is a large flightless rail that is endemic to the island of Halmahera in Northern Maluku, Indonesia, where it inhabits impenetrable sago swamps adjacent to forests. Its plumage is predominantly dark slate-grey, and the bare skin around its eyes, the long, thick bill, and the legs are all bright red. Its call is a low drumming sound which is accompanied by wing-beating.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Invisible Rail?
The Invisible Rail is about 33–40 cm long and weighs around 1 kg.
Where does the Invisible Rail live?
Its breeding range: Australasia: Halmahera (northern Moluccas). It is most often recorded in Indonesia.
What does the Invisible Rail eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Invisible Rail in?
It belongs to the family Rails, Crakes & Coots (Rallidae), order Gruiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 33–40 cm
- Weight
- 1 kg
- Habitat
- Wetland
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
More measurements
- Wing
- 163 mm
- Tail
- 48 mm
- Bill
- 73 mm
- Tarsus
- 80 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Australasia: Halmahera (northern Moluccas)
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rails, Crakes & Coots Rallidae
- Genus
- Gallirallus
Other birds in the genus Gallirallus
Calayan RailGallirallus calayanensis
WekaGallirallus australis
Chestnut RailGallirallus castaneoventris
New Caledonian RailGallirallus lafresnayanus
Okinawa RailGallirallus okinawae
Barred RailGallirallus torquatus
Buff-banded RailGallirallus philippensis
Guam RailGallirallus owstoni
Pink-legged RailGallirallus insignis
Roviana RailGallirallus rovianae
Woodford's RailGallirallus woodfordi
Lord Howe WoodhenGallirallus sylvestris
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Dustin Chen. ↗
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