Rallus indicus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The brown-cheeked rail or eastern water rail (Rallus indicus) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It breeds in northern Mongolia, eastern Siberia, northeast China, Korea and northern Japan, and winters in southeast Asia. It used to be considered a subspecies of the water rail.
The species differs from the slightly smaller nominate form through its paler upperparts, brown-tinged underparts and a brown stripe through the eye. Compared to R. a. korejewi, it is darker above, has a browner breast, white on the throat and a more obvious brown eyestripe. As indicated above, it has different vocalisations to the other forms, and is now usually given full species status, although its behaviour, nest and eggs are identical to those of other subspecies of water rail.
The brown-cheeked rail is 23–29 cm (9.1–11.4 in) in length and can weigh 75–190 g (2.6–6.7 oz). In addition to its distinctive plumage, it has very different vocalisations from the water rail, and it was considered a separate species in early works, including the first edition (1898) of Fauna of British India, but later demoted to a subspecies by E. C. Stuart Baker in the second edition (1929). It was... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-cheeked Rail sighting in Tokyo on a given day, based on 450 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 93rd most-seen of the 229 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-cheeked Rail in Tokyo on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Tokyo's driest months, with about 80 mm of rain against 250 mm in October.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown-cheeked Rail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 11
Of the 11 cities where we can rate Brown-cheeked Rail sightings, Tokyo ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Fuzhou (China, about 10%).
Same family: Rallidae
The closest relatives of the Brown-cheeked Rail that you can see in Tokyo (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are Eurasian Coot (about 50%) and Common Moorhen (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown-cheeked Rail is recorded against all the birds logged in Tokyo (450 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
