Rodrigues Railとは 意味・読み方・使い方

The Rodrigues Rail or Leguat's Gelinote (Aphanapteryx leguati) is an extinct bird named after the learned traveller François Leguat, who came with a band of Huguenot religious refugees to Rodrigues in 1691 and stayed there for two years. It was also mentioned by Julien Tafforet in 1726. The Rodrigues Rail was a plump, flightless rail with bright gray plumage - probably an effect caused by fine grey and white mottling or vermiculations like on a mallard drake's flanks - and conspicuous red bill, feet and eye wattles. It was somewhat smaller than its relative, the Red Rail of Mauritius. The strong bill varied much in size and shape, some specimens having shorter and almost straight bills, others being much longer and prominently curved. It is unknown whether this related to sexual dimorphism or to individual variation or even to a genetic plasticity in bill shape and size that responds to differential food availability, as had been shown in some Darwin's finches. Leguat's account does suggest that he could not discern marked differences between the sexes.