📸 PhotoPhoto: (c) Wich’yanan L, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Okinawa Rail
Gallirallus okinawae (Okinawa Rail · ヤンバルクイナ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its weight of about 420 g is roughly the weight of seven chicken eggs (about 60 g per egg) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its total length of about 35 cm is slightly longer than the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 The Yamashina Institute for Ornithology introduces this bird as a National Natural Monument and endangered species of Japan, warning that if the Yanbaru forest disappears, the bird will disappear with it.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Okinawa Rail (Yanbaru-kuina) is a flightless rail living only in the Yanbaru forest of northern Okinawa Island, Japan.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its wings are small relative to its body weight and the muscles that move the wings are underdeveloped, so it cannot fly. The keel of its breastbone is also small.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It digs up small animals from the ground and breaks snail shells to eat the flesh inside. In May, it lays 4–5 white eggs spotted with brown in a nest of dry leaves on the ground, and calls loudly in the evening.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List EN (2021) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22692412/181706825
- • IUCN Red List category EN — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 181706825
- • wikidata.org — Q1069867
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Okinawa Rail imported from iNaturalist photo 388492786
- • yamashina.or.jp — about or.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Michael Day · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Crex crex)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.