relatively safe from future habitat destruction. 

 Los Penasquitos has dried up and does not sup- 

 port rail, Upper Newport is "safe" under State 

 management, and Tijuana Slough is vulnerable, 

 but FWS plans to preserve it. Particularly hard hit 

 were areas known to have supported large popula- 

 tions of rails such as San Diego Bay, reduced from 

 990 to 146 ha; Mission Bay, from 970 to 8.5 ha; 

 and the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, from 2750 

 to 28 ha. Thus, entire populations have been ex- 

 terminated (Recovery Team 1977). 



PRIORITY INDEX 



32 

 DESCRIPTION 



Rallus longirostris levipes is a chicken-size 

 bird with a gray-brown back, tawny breast, ver- 

 tical dusky and white bars on its flanks, and a 

 white patch under its short, upcocked tail; it has 

 long legs, toes and bill and is a strong runner and 

 a weak flyer. Although similar to R. I. obsoletus, 

 it is slightly smaller; with a more slender bill and a 

 back darker, browner or more olive (less grayish) 

 in tone, with narrower and less black marking; its 

 breast is a richer cinnamon color and the stripe 

 over the eye more whitish, less rusty (Bangs 1899, 

 Bent 1926, van Rossem 1929, Ridgway and 

 Friedmann 1941). 



The size of the adult male is: wing, 154.5 - 167 

 (av. 161.9) mm; tail, 62.5 - 69 (66.7); exposed 

 culmen, 56-61 (58.9); tarsus, 53-60.5 (56.9); 

 middle toe without claw, 50-54 (51.2^. The adult 

 female is: wing, 138 - 155.5 (147.3); tail, 57 - 67 

 (62.6); exposed culmen, 51.5-58 (54.2); tarsus, 

 47-51 (49.5); middle two without claw, 41-48 

 (44.9) (Oberholser 1937) Weight - male, av. 306 

 gm.; female, av 248 gm. (Ohmart and Smith 1973). 



Its eggs are drab, cream-colored, and sparsely 

 marked with purple 44.6 x 31.0 mm (Bent 

 1926). 



The light-footed clapper rail has a confusing 

 taxonomic history. Originally thought to be a 

 King Rail [Rallus elegans) by Henshaw (1876); 

 then the same as California Rail [Rallus obsoletus), 

 which at that time was considered a distinct spe- 

 cies by Belding (1883); then thought to be a 

 separate species [Rallus levipes) by Bangs (1899); 

 then a subspecies of the California Rail [Rallus 

 obsoletus levipes) that was still considered a dif- 



ferent species from either King or Clapper Rail by 

 van Rossem (1929); then united with the King 

 Rail as Rallus elegans levipes by Peters (1934); it 

 was finally classified a clapper rail subspecies Ral- 

 lus longirostris levipes (Oberholser 1937), which 

 designation was accepted by Ridgway and Fried- 

 mann (1941), the American Ornithologists Union 

 (1957), and subsequent authorities. 



RANGE 



The light-footed clapper rail ranges the coastal 

 salt marshes from Santa Barbara County, Cali- 

 fornia, south to San Quintin Bay, Baja California 

 1977), which is the originally described range of 

 Cooke (1914), Grinnell et al. (1918) and Bent 

 (1926). Later evaluations (Grinnell and Miller 

 1944, American Ornithologists Union 1957) 

 found no Santa Barbara records after 1875, so set 

 the northern limits at Point Mugu and Hueneme, 

 Ventura County. Confusion over distinction of 

 levipes from another subspecies farther south in 

 Baja California resulted in placing the southern 

 breeding limit of levipes at Ensenada, Baja Cali- 

 fornia (Friedmann et al. 1950, American Ornith- 

 ologists' Union). Study of more adequate speci- 

 men samples extended the breeding range of 

 levipes southward to San Quintin Bay (S. Wilbur 

 ms.). Distribution is markedly interrupted be- 

 cause of discontinuous habitat (van Rossem 1929; 

 Grinnell et al. 1918, Edwards 1922, Dawson 

 1924). 



Areas that have recent records of light-footed 

 clapper rails are: Santa Barbara Co. - Carpinteria 

 Marsh (or El Estero or Sandyland Slough); Ven- 

 tura Co. - Mugu Marshes (Pacific Missile Range); 

 Orange Co. - Anaheim Bay marshes. Upper New- 

 port Bay; San Diego Co. - Tijuana River estuary; 

 Sweet Water Marsh ; Otay River Slough; Marine 

 Biology Study Area; San Diego River; Mission 

 Bay; Los Penasquitos; San Elijo Lagoon (Wilbur 

 1974). Despite published reference to the contrary 

 (Friedmann et al. 1950, American Ornithologists' 

 Union 1957, van Rossem 1947), there is no evi- 

 dence of migration or of wandering from home 

 marshes after the breeding season (Wilbur and 

 Tomlinson 1976). 



RANGE MAP 



The past and present distribution is shown on 

 tlie following page. 



