The Henderson crake or red-eyed crake, also Henderson Island crake or Henderson Island rail, is a species of flightless bird in the family Rallidae. It is endemic to Henderson Island in the southeast Pacific Ocean. Its natural habitat is dense to open forest.
Region
Southeast Pacific (Pitcairn Islands)
Typical Environment
Occurs across Henderson Island’s interior and coastal forest, ranging from dense to more open limestone (makatea) woodland and scrub. It favors leaf-littered ground with tangled roots, pandanus and pisonia understory, and areas with fallen logs. The species forages along the forest floor, including edges near seabird colonies where invertebrates and organic debris are abundant. It avoids exposed beaches and spends most time under cover. Being flightless, it occupies continuous ground territories rather than moving between habitat patches.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 30 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This small rail is flightless and evolved on predator-poor Henderson Island, a remote uplifted coral atoll in the South Pacific. Its vivid red eye gives rise to the name red-eyed crake. Despite the presence of introduced Polynesian rats on the island, the species has persisted, likely due to its secretive, terrestrial habits. Henderson Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the crake is a key insect predator in its forest floor ecosystem.
Temperament
secretive and territorial
Flight Pattern
flightless; runs swiftly through undergrowth
Social Behavior
Usually found in monogamous pairs or family groups that maintain small ground territories. Nests are placed on or near the ground in dense cover. Both sexes likely share incubation and chick-rearing duties. Juveniles remain with parents for a period before dispersing along the forest floor.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include sharp clicks, squeaks, and trilling notes given from cover. Pairs often duet at dawn and dusk, with calls carrying through the understory.
Plumage
Compact, short-tailed rail with mostly dark rufous-brown to sooty-brown plumage, slightly paler on the throat and belly, and very short rounded wings.
Diet
Feeds mainly on invertebrates such as beetles, ants, isopods, amphipods, small crabs, snails, and other leaf-litter fauna. Also takes fallen fruit, seeds, and occasionally scraps or carrion around seabird rookeries. Forages by probing and flicking through leaf litter and turning small debris. Opportunistic and adaptable to seasonal availability of prey on the island.
Preferred Environment
Forages on the shaded forest floor, along root tangles, limestone crevices, and under low shrubs. Frequently searches edges near seabird colonies where organic matter accumulates.
