The New Guinea Flightless Rail lives in wetlands and thickets on New Guinea. It has a gray forehead, a rusty-brown crown and nape, and a green bill.
Adults have a gray forehead, rusty-brown crown and nape, dull olive-gray upperparts, pale underparts, and an apple-green bill. The female is similar but slightly smaller.
It is active by day, spends time on the ground, and eats insects and plant material. It uses mangroves, wet thickets, and swamp forest.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.