The Auckland Rail is a small, secretive rail remaining on two islands in New Zealand’s Auckland Islands.
Its head and neck are reddish brown, its back brown and black, and its breast gray. The flanks and undertail are barred black and white; the red bill has a gray tip.
It is active by day and stays under dense grass and ferns. It appears territorial and very rarely flies.
In November 1989 on Adams Island, two eggs were being incubated in a grass nest among tussocks. The top of the nest was 20 cm above the ground, sheltered by overhanging grass.
The eggs are cream-coloured, with brown, reddish-brown and pale-grey spots and blotches concentrated at the blunt end.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.