Taxonomic status of certain clapper rails of southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico

The Wilson Bulletin
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Abstract

Examination of 58 Clapper Rail specimens taken in the breeding season from the Colorado Valley and the west coast of mainland Mexico verifies the distinctness of the races Rallus longirostris yomanensis, R. 1. rhizophorae, and R. 1. nayaritensis. Rallus 1. yumanensis is a relatively pale brown, pointed-winged, summer resident of freshwater marshes along the valley and delta of the Colorado River. Late winter specimens of yumanensis have been taken in freshwater and saltwater habitats in the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Puebla. Both R. 1. rhizophorae, a pale grayish bird, and R. 1. nayaritensis, a darker grayish form, are presumed year-round residents of the western Mexican mangrove swamps. Both have more rounded wings than yumanensis. The range of rhizophorae extends south along the coast from central Sonora to central Sinaloa, and that of nayaritensis from central Sinaloa to the vicinity of San Blas, Nayarit. Features of the range and characters of birds where the range of these two races approach each other are unclear.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Taxonomic status of certain clapper rails of southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico
Series title The Wilson Bulletin
Volume 86
Issue 4
Year Published 1974
Language English
Contributing office(s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Description 325-335
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Wilson Bulletin
First page 325
Last page 335
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