Guam Rail

The Guam Rail is a flightless species of rail endemic to the United States Pacific territory of Guam. The species was extirpated from the island in the 1980s and was considered to be extinct in the wild for several decades. Following captive breeding programs and other successful conservation efforts, the species was reclassified as Critically Endangered in 2019.

The Guam Rail is a medium-sized rail, recognized by its brownish plumage and thin black and white breast bars. It has a distinctive white eye stripe. Males and females are similar in appearance, although males average larger.

The Guam Rail was once abundant on Guam, having evolved on the island without the existence significant predatory species. Following World War II, the brown tree snake was inadvertently introduced to Guam; by the 1960s the effect the snakes were having on native wildlife began to become apparent. Once considered extinct in the wild, tremendous conservation efforts have been applied to the species. In 2019, the Guam Rail became the second species, after the California Condor, to be reclassified by the IUCN RedList from extinct in the wild to critically endangered.