The American Ornithologists’ Union, “check-list supplement” that came out at the end of July recognized the former Clapper Rails of the west as a new species, the Ridgway’s Rail. Previously our local rails were considered a subspecies of the Clapper Rail, but now are a unique species.
There are three subspecies: our local California Ridgway’s rail; the light-footed Ridgway’s rail in Los Angeles and San Diego; and the Yuma Ridgway’s rail in Arizona, Nevada and eastern California. All are endangered.
Read more at: There’s a New Bird Species in California, Sort Of | Science | KQED Public Media for Northern CA.
Ridgway’s Rail previously Clapper Rail photo by Sandy Steinman
Natural History Wanderings 
[…] August I wrote about Clapper Rails Are Now Ridgway’s Rail | Natural History Wanderings. I recently saw several Ridgway’s Rails at high tide which I mentioned in a post A Relatively […]
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By: Ridgway’s Rail | Natural History Wanderings on January 5, 2015
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