Robert D. Ohmart 

 Department of Zoology 

 Arizona State University 

 Tempe, Arizona 85281 



Gale W. Monson 

 8831 N. Riviera Drive 

 Tucson, Arizona 85704 



Gordon I. Gould, Jr. 

 1080 E.Nevada 

 Blythe, California 92225 



PREPARER'S COMMENTS 



Research attention focused on the Yuma 

 clapper rail because of its endangered status has 

 cleared up two important matters. Despite doubts 

 expressed by Ripley (1977), Banks and Tomlin- 

 son (1974) have shown, on the basis of critical 

 study of adequate specimens, that it is a taxa- 

 nomically valid subspecies, examples of which can 

 be recognized as migrants when away from their 

 breeding areas. 



Also, it has been found that the populations 

 of this rail will respond to changing distribution 

 of its preferred type of habitat, which has now 

 been described in detail, by extending its range 

 (Tomlinson and Todd 1973, Ohmart and Smith 

 1973, Smith 1974, Gould 1974). This informa- 

 tion should make possible the continued exis- 

 tence of this subspecies by means of specific habi- 

 tat management for it, in addition to the several 

 other competing land uses in the limited sites 

 available along the lower Colorado River and 

 adjoining areas.— John W. Aldrich. 



LITERATURE CITED/SELECTED 

 REFERENCES 



Abott, C. G. 1940. Notes from the Salton Sea, 

 California. Condor 42:264. 



Banks, R. C, and R. E. Tomlinson. 1974. Taxo- 

 nomic status of certain Clapper Rails of south- 

 western United States and northwestern Mexi- 

 co. Wilson Bull. 86:325-335. 



Bent, A. C. 1926. Life histories of North Ameri- 

 can marsh birds. U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 135:275. 



California Department of Fish and Game. 1978. 

 At the crossroads: a report on California's 



endangered and rare fish and wildlife. Bian- 

 nual Rep. 103 pp. 



Cornelius, S. S. 1972. Yuma Clapper Rail census, 

 Havasu National Wildlife Refuge. Unpubl. 



Dickey, D. R. 1923. Description of a new Clapper 

 Rail from the Colorado River valley. Auk 40: 

 90-94. 



Gould, G. I., Jr. 1975. Yuma Clapper Rail study- 

 censuses and habitat distribution 1973-74. 

 California Dep. Fish Game Admin. Rep. 75-2, 

 April 1975. 



Grinnell, J. 1914. An account of the mammals 

 and birds of the lower Colorado Valley. Univ. 

 Cahf. Publ. Zool. 12:51-294. 



Grinnell, J., and A. H. Miller. 1944. The distribu- 

 tion of the birds of California. Pac. Coast Avi- 

 fauna 27:128. 



Moffitt, J. 1932. Clapper Rails occur on marshes 

 of Salton Sea, California. Condor 34: 137. 



Oberholser, H. C. 1937. A revision of the Clapper 

 Rails [Rallus longirostris Boddaert). Proc. 

 U.S.Nat. Mus. 84:313-354. 



Ohmart, R. D., and R. E. Tomlinson. 1974. Food 

 of western Clapper Rails. Wilson Bull. 89:332- 

 336. 



Ohmart, R. D., and R. W. Smith. 1973. North 

 American Clapper Rails [Rallus longirostris), 

 literature survey with special consideration 

 being given to the past and current status of 

 yumanensis. Bur. Reclam. Rep. 



PhilUps, A., J. Marshall, and G. Monson. 1964. 

 The birds of Arizona. Univ. Arizona Press, 

 Tucson. 31pp. 



Ridgway, R., and H. Friedmann. 1941. The birds 

 of North and Middle America, Part 9. U.S. 

 Nat. Mus. Bull. 50. 



Ripley, S. D. 1977. Rails of the world. David R. 

 Godine, Boston. 



Smith, P. M. 1974. Yun.a Clapper Rail study, 



