Crakes and rails

["Greg" <>]

Hi Greg and Denise,

Nocturnal activity is likely to be much more common in Australian birds than 
is generally known.  Shorebirds, for instance, are often active at night but 
this is also related to tides.  Black-necked Storks have been recorded 
foraging at night and this may be more common than the few records suggest. 
With crakes and rails nocturnal activity is likely as they are mostly 
crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and there are some records of 
nocturnal activity, as Denise reports.  Their larger relatives, the 
swamphens and moorhens, are often active at night and appear to move from 
wetland to wetland under the cover of darkness.

Greg Clancy