Lewin’s Rail

Lewin's rail (Lewinia pectoralis) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is also known as the water rail, Lewin's water rail, Lewin's grind rail, slate-breasted rail, slate-breasted water rail, pectoral rail, pectoral water rail, short-toed rail and short-toed water rail. Its common name and Latin binomial commemorate English naturalist and illustrator William Lewin. It is found in Australia, Wallacea, and New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. == Subspecies == Eight subspecies have been described: L. p. exsul (Hartert, 1898) – Flores, Wallacea New Guinea L. p. mayri (Hartert, 1930) – Arfak Mountains L. p. captus (Mayr & Gilliard, 1951) - central New Guinea L. p. insulsus (Greenway, 1935) - Herzog Mountains L. p. alberti (Rothschild & Hartert, 1907) - mountains of south-eastern New Guinea Australia L. p. clelandi (Mathews, 1911) – south-western Australia (extinct) L. p. pectoralis (Temminck, 1831) – eastern and south-eastern Australia L. p. brachipus (Swainson, 1838) – Tasmania == Conservation status == Lewin's rails are not listed as threatened on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. However, their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example: Lewin's rail is listed as threatened…