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Abstract
California Clapper Rails (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) have monomorphic plumage, a trait that makes identification of sex difficult without extensive behavioral observation or genetic testing. Using 31 Clapper Rails (22 females, 9 males), caught in south San Francisco Bay, CA, and using easily measurable morphological characteristics, we developed a discriminant function to distinguish sex. We then validated this function on 33 additional rails. Seven morphological measurements were considered, resulting in three which were selected in the discriminate function: culmen length, tarsometatarsus length, and flat wing length. We had no classification errors for the development or testing datasets either with resubstitution or cross-validation procedures. Male California Clapper Rails were 6-22% larger than females for individual morphological traits, and the largest difference was in body mass. Variables in our discriminant function closely match variables developed for sexing Clapper Rails of Gulf Coast populations. However, a universal discriminant function to sex all Clapper Rail subspecies is not likely because of large and inconsistent differences in morphological traits among subspecies.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Sexing California Clapper Rails using morphological measurements |
| Series title | North American Bird Bander |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 2009 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | North American Bird Bander |
| Contributing office(s) | Western Ecological Research Center |
| Description | 7 p. |
| First page | 58 |
| Last page | 64 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |