Facts about Guam rail
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Limestone forest habitats on Guam provided the Guam rail with dense vegetation for nesting and shelter before the species' extinction in the wild during the 1970s.
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Captive Guam rails have demonstrated dietary flexibility by consuming prepared foods including fruits and vegetables alongside their natural insect-based diet in breeding facilities.
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Guam rail chicks fledge within approximately 40 days of hatching, making them relatively precocial compared to other rail species found in Pacific island ecosystems.
- 07
The Guam rail's distinctive loud, repeated calls served as territorial markers and mating signals throughout the island's limestone forests before its disappearance from the wild.
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Nocturnal foraging behavior allowed the Guam rail to hunt insects and small invertebrates during nighttime hours when brown tree snakes were less active on the forest floor.
- 05
Reintroduction efforts in Rota and other Pacific islands have successfully established small wild populations of Guam rails beyond their original Guam habitat since the 1980s.
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In 1974, ornithologists captured the last wild Guam rail specimens for a captive breeding program before the species vanished from its native habitat.
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Measuring just 6.3 inches long, the Guam rail was one of the smallest flightless rails in the world before its extinction in the wild.
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Brown tree snakes introduced to Guam around 1950 preyed heavily on the flightless Guam rail, contributing significantly to its rapid population decline.
- 01
Extinct by 1981 in the wild, the Guam rail survives only through captive breeding programs that maintain approximately 200 individuals today.