Table 2 |
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Divergent traits between the Water Rail and Brown-cheeked Rail (adults) |
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Traits |
Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) |
Brown-cheeked Rail (R. indicus) |
|
|
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Sexual dimorphism in body size |
Present |
Absent |
|
Body size |
Smaller |
Larger |
|
Primary measurements |
Smaller |
Larger |
|
Primary-index |
Smaller |
Larger |
|
Bill length |
Longer and finer |
Shorter |
|
Supercilium |
Darker |
Lighter (looks to conspicuous/marked) |
|
Chin and throat feathers |
White or light gray |
Pinkish cinnamon |
|
Vane tips of neck-and-breast feathers |
Pale/gray |
Brownish |
|
Under tail coverts |
White |
Deep black-and-white barred |
|
Outer coverts of the wing |
Less frequently barred |
More frequently barred |
|
Pitched growl in call |
Low |
Very low |
|
Call duration |
Longer |
Shorter |
|
Length of eggs |
Smaller |
Larger |
|
|
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Trait variation observed between adults of the Water Rail and Brown-cheeked Rail [7,10,15]. |
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Tavares et al. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2010 10:226 doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-226 |
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