Red Rail
Encyclopedia
The Red Rail or Red Hen of Mauritius
, Aphanapteryx bonasia, is an extinct rail
. It was only found on the island of Mauritius
. The Red Rail, which today is only known from a large number of bones, some descriptions and a handful of drawings and paintings, was a flightless bird, somewhat larger than a chicken (about 50 cm). Its plumage was reddish brown all over, and the feather
s were fluffy and hairlike; the tail was not visible in the living bird and the short wings likewise also nearly disappeared in the plumage
. It had a long, slightly curved, brown bill
and comparatively (for a rail) long legs. Altogether, it resembled a lean kiwi
more than a rail.
The Red Rail is discussed in almost every report about Mauritius from 1602 on; however, the details provided are repetitive and do not shed much light on the bird's life history; rather, they dwell upon the varying ease with which the bird could be caught according to the hunting method and the fact that when roasted it was considered a good substitute for pork
. Most of the information on the appearance of the bird comes from the painting by Joris Hoefnagel
, done from a bird living in the menagerie
of Emperor Rudolph II
around 1600. More enigmatically, a bird resembling a Red Rail is figured in Francesco Bassano the Younger
's painting Arca di Noè ("Noah's Ark"). As Bassano died before the Dutch colony was established on Mauritius in 1598, the origin of the bird is a mystery. Finally, there are some rather crude depictions of what apparently is this bird in three of the 1620s dodo
paintings by Roelant Savery
. What can be said is that around 1600, possibly earlier, a small number of Red Rails reached Europe alive. In addition, there are four more or less crude drawings done on Mauritius.
was considered rather unpalatable, and usually only killed out of curiosity or boredom, but the Red Rail was a very popular gamebird for the Dutch and French settlers. While it could usually make good its escape when chased, it was easily lured by showing the birds a red cloth, which they approached to attack; a similar behavior was noted in its relative, the Rodrigues Rail
. The birds could then be picked up, and their cries when held would draw more individuals to the scene, as the birds, which had evolved in the absence of predators, were curious and not afraid of humans. As it nested on the ground, pigs which ate their eggs and young probably contributed to its extinction. When François Leguat
(1708), who had become intimately familiar with the Rodrigues Rail in the preceding years, came to Mauritius
in 1693, he remarked that the Red Rail had already become rare; he was the last source to mention the bird. It can be assumed to have been extinct around 1700. Determination of the rail's status and disappearance is complicated because the local name for the dodo, Todaersen (or dodaersen, "fat-arses") was transferred to the Red Rail, which was just as plump-rumped, with the dodo's impending extinction.
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Aphanapteryx bonasia, is an extinct rail
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
. It was only found on the island of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. The Red Rail, which today is only known from a large number of bones, some descriptions and a handful of drawings and paintings, was a flightless bird, somewhat larger than a chicken (about 50 cm). Its plumage was reddish brown all over, and the feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s were fluffy and hairlike; the tail was not visible in the living bird and the short wings likewise also nearly disappeared in the plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
. It had a long, slightly curved, brown bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
and comparatively (for a rail) long legs. Altogether, it resembled a lean kiwi
Kiwi
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...
more than a rail.
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
. Most of the information on the appearance of the bird comes from the painting by Joris Hoefnagel
Joris Hoefnagel
Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel was a Flemish painter and engraver, the son of a diamond merchant.He travelled abroad, making drawings from archaeological subjects, and was a pupil of Hans Bol at Mechlin...
, done from a bird living in the menagerie
Menagerie
A menagerie is/was a form of keeping common and exotic animals in captivity that preceded the modern zoological garden. The term was first used in seventeenth century France in reference to the management of household or domestic stock. Later, it came to be used primarily in reference to...
of Emperor Rudolph II
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...
around 1600. More enigmatically, a bird resembling a Red Rail is figured in Francesco Bassano the Younger
Francesco Bassano the Younger
Francesco Bassano the Younger , also called Francesco Giambattista da Ponte or Francesco da Ponte the Younger, was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period....
's painting Arca di Noè ("Noah's Ark"). As Bassano died before the Dutch colony was established on Mauritius in 1598, the origin of the bird is a mystery. Finally, there are some rather crude depictions of what apparently is this bird in three of the 1620s dodo
Dodo
The dodo was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall, weighing about , living on fruit, and nesting on the ground....
paintings by Roelant Savery
Roelant Savery
Roelant Savery , was a Flanders-born Dutch Golden Age painter.-Life:Savery was born in Kortrijk...
. What can be said is that around 1600, possibly earlier, a small number of Red Rails reached Europe alive. In addition, there are four more or less crude drawings done on Mauritius.
Extinction
The rail was hunted to extinction in the century after its discovery. The dodoDodo
The dodo was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall, weighing about , living on fruit, and nesting on the ground....
was considered rather unpalatable, and usually only killed out of curiosity or boredom, but the Red Rail was a very popular gamebird for the Dutch and French settlers. While it could usually make good its escape when chased, it was easily lured by showing the birds a red cloth, which they approached to attack; a similar behavior was noted in its relative, the Rodrigues Rail
Rodrigues Rail
The Rodrigues Rail or Leguat's Gelinote is an extinct bird named after the learned traveller François Leguat, who came with a band of Huguenot religious refugees to Rodrigues in 1691 and stayed there for two years. It was also mentioned by Julien Tafforet in 1726...
. The birds could then be picked up, and their cries when held would draw more individuals to the scene, as the birds, which had evolved in the absence of predators, were curious and not afraid of humans. As it nested on the ground, pigs which ate their eggs and young probably contributed to its extinction. When François Leguat
François Leguat
François Leguat was a French explorer and naturalist.Leguat was a French Huguenot originating from the Province of Bresse, now part of the department of Ain, who fled to Holland in 1689 after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685...
(1708), who had become intimately familiar with the Rodrigues Rail in the preceding years, came to Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
in 1693, he remarked that the Red Rail had already become rare; he was the last source to mention the bird. It can be assumed to have been extinct around 1700. Determination of the rail's status and disappearance is complicated because the local name for the dodo, Todaersen (or dodaersen, "fat-arses") was transferred to the Red Rail, which was just as plump-rumped, with the dodo's impending extinction.
Taxonomy
Due to the confusion with the dodo mentioned above and discrepancies in the crude drawings, the list of synonyms of the Red Rail is quite long:- Apterornis bonasia SelysEdmond de Sélys LongchampsBaron Michel Edmond de Sélys Longchamps was a Belgian liberal politician and scientist.Selys-Longchamps was regarded as the world's greatest authority on dragonflies and damselflies. His wealth and influence enabled him to amass one of the finest collections of neuropteroid insects and to describe...
, 1848 - Didus broeckii SchlegelHermann SchlegelHermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist and herpetologist.-Early life and education:Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated Schlegel's interest in natural history...
, 1848 (after the van den BroeckePieter van den BroeckePieter van den Broecke was a Dutch cloth merchant in the service of the Dutch East India Company , and one of the first Dutchmen to taste coffee. He also went to Angola three times...
drawing) - Didus herberti SchlegelHermann SchlegelHermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist and herpetologist.-Early life and education:Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated Schlegel's interest in natural history...
, 1854 (after the Herbert drawing) - Aphanapteryx imperialis Frauenfeld, 1868 (after the Hoefnagel painting)
- Pezophaps broeckii SchlegelHermann SchlegelHermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist and herpetologist.-Early life and education:Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated Schlegel's interest in natural history...
, 1873 - Didus herbertii SalvadoriTommaso SalvadoriCount Adelardo Tommaso Salvadori Paleotti was an Italian zoologist and ornithologist.Salvadori was born in Porto San Giorgio, son of Count Luigi Salvadori and Ethel. He took an early interest in birds and published a catalogue of the birds of Sardinia in 1862...
, 1893 - Kuina mundyi Hachisuka, 1937 (after the MundyPeter Mundy-Life:He came from Penryn in Cornwall. In 1609 he accompanied his father to Rouen, and was then sent to Gascony to learn French. In May 1611 he went as a cabin-boy in a merchant ship, and gradually rose in life until he became of independent circumstances....
drawing)