Difference between revisions of "King Rail" - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 15:28, 5 June 2018

Photo © by Skean

Rallus elegans

Identification

Length 35cm (14 in), wingspan 61cm (24 in)

Adult

Juvenile
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Chambers County, Texas, USA, May 2018

White undertail coverts
Red-brown face, neck, breast and wing coverts
White throat
Bold black and white barring on flanks
Dark brown cap and hindneck
Brown back feathers with tawny edges
Whitish belly

Juvenile

Pale buff head and neck
Back and upperwings darker
White belly

Similar Species

Similar to Clapper Rail in shape and color pattern. Clapper rail tends to be smaller and grayer, and generally inhabits saltwater marshes. However, there is some overlap in physical features and habitat, and hybridization has been documented.

Virginia Rail has a long curved bill and reddish breast like the King Rail, but can be distinguished by its much smaller size, reddish bill, darker legs, and dark grey face.

Distribution

	Eastern United States, eastern Mexico, and Cuba
	Legend • R. e. elegans; year-round • R. e. elegans; breeding • R. e. elegans; wintering • Aztec Rail; year-round • R. e. ramsdeni; year-round Maps/Texts consulted^1,2,3,4,5

Habitat

Freshwater or brackish marshes and marsh-shrub swamp habitats.

Taxonomy

King Rail and Clapper Rail are closely related and are sometimes considered conspecific. Aztec Rail was formerly included in this species.

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies⁶:

R. e. elegans - East Canada and north-eastern US; winters to eastern Mexico
R. e. ramsdeni - Cuba and Isle of Youth

Behaviour

Breeding

Male announces presence within territory by giving repeated hard "kek" calls. They make nests of grass or marsh vegetation constructed just above the water in bushes or clumps of marsh vegetation. May place nest anywhere from dry ground to over more than 2 ft of water. Often nest in rice fields in southeastern states. Nests are usually domed with an entrance ramp. Six to 13 buff-coloured eggs are laid. Both sexes share in incubation and rearing responsibilities. Chicks are downy black with pied white-and-black bills upon hatching. The chicks are semi-precocial, being able to walk shortly after hatching but remaining dependent on the parents for food and protection for several weeks.

Diet

Mainly crayfish and crabs, but also includes other aquatic invertebrates, small fish, insects, and some plant seeds.

References

Sibley, David A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780679451228
Poole, Alan F. et al. 2005. King Rail (Rallus elegans). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/003.
Brinkley, Edward S. 2007. Field Guide to Birds of North America. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 9781402738746
Howell, Steve N.G. and Sophie Webb. 1995. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198540120
Raffaele, Herbert et al. 2003. Birds of the West Indies. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN 9780691113197
Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2014. IOC World Bird Names (version 4.4). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) King Rail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/King_Rail

External Links

Search for photos of King Rail in the gallery

Retrieved from ‘https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/index.php?title=King_Rail&oldid=231443’

Categories:

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[Image:King_Rail.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|Skean|Skean}} <!--EDITORS: this image does not appear in the Gallery-->]]
+;[[:Category:Rallus|Rallus]] elegans
+==Identification==
+Length 35cm (14 in), wingspan 61cm (24 in)
+====Adult====
+[[Image:King Rail juvenile Anahuac NWR.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Stanley+Jones|Stanley Jones}}<br />[[Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge]], Chambers County, [[Texas]], [[USA]], May 2018]]
+*White undertail coverts
+*Red-brown face, neck, breast and wing coverts
+*White throat
+*Bold black and white barring on flanks
+*Dark brown cap and hindneck
+*Brown back feathers with tawny edges
+*Whitish belly
+====Juvenile====
+*Pale buff head and neck
+*Back and upperwings darker
+*White belly
+====Similar Species====
+Similar to [[Clapper Rail]] in shape and color pattern.  Clapper rail tends to be smaller and grayer, and generally inhabits saltwater marshes.  However, there is some overlap in physical features and habitat, and hybridization has been documented.<br><br>
+[[Virginia Rail]] has a long curved bill and reddish breast like the King Rail, but can be distinguished by its much smaller size, reddish bill, darker legs, and dark grey face.
-;Rallus elegans
+==Distribution==
-[[Image:King_Rail.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Skean]]
+{| cellpadding="5"
+|-
-Identification Tips:
+| rowspan=2 valign="center"|
-Length: 14 inches Wingspan: 24 inches
+[[Image:Map-King_Rail.png|left]]
-Fairly large, chunky, short-tailed, round-winged, ground-dwelling marsh bird
+|Eastern [[United States]], eastern [[Mexico]], and [[Cuba]]
-Long, slightly decurved bill
+|-
-Most often seen walking, rarely flies
+|<font size=4>Legend</font><br>
-Often flicks and cocks its short tail, exposing white undertail coverts
+'''<font color="#00FF00" style="background-color: black">•</font>'''&nbsp;''R. e. elegans''; year-round<br>
-Sexes similar
+'''<font color="#008000" style="background-color: black">•</font>'''&nbsp;''R. e. elegans''; breeding<br>
+'''<font color="#0080FF" style="background-color: black">•</font>'''&nbsp;''R. e. elegans''; wintering<br>
-Adult:
+'''<font color="#FF8000" style="background-color: black">•</font>'''&nbsp;[[Aztec Rail]]; year-round<br>
-Rich reddish-brown face, neck, breast, and wing coverts
+'''<font color="#804000" style="background-color: black">•</font>'''&nbsp;''R. e. ramsdeni''; year-round<br>
-White throat
+<font size="1">Maps/Texts consulted<sup>[[#References|1]],[[#References|2]],[[#References|3]],[[#References|4]],[[#References|5]]</sup></font>
-Dark brown cap and hindneck
+|}
-Brown back feathers with tawny edges
-Whitish belly
-Flanks strongly barred with white and dark brown
-Juvenile:
-Pale buff head and neck
-Back and upperwings darker than in adult
-White belly
-Barring on flanks less distinct than in adult
-The King Rail is the largest species of North American rail - twice the bulk of the more common Virginia rail. It’s thin, long-legged form allows it to squeeze through dense vegetation and creep about wetlands with great agility. It has a variety of calls including an evenly spaced series of up to 10 kik-kik-kiks.
-Distribution and Population
-The King Rail potentially breeds throughout most of the eastern United States (except in the higher reaches of the Allegheny Mountains). In the United States, it is irregular and scattered everywhere, except in the lower Mississippi Valley and near the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. The species also breeds in southern Canada, as well as along the Caribbean coast of Mexico (not into the Yucatan Peninsula) and in Cuba. The species winters in the Gulf states and along the Atlantic coast of its summer range. In Canada, the species breeds only in the extreme southern part of Ontario. It is thought that the King Rail was quite common in some southern Ontario marshes, although there is no early information on population numbers and the area occupied. Data from the mid 1980s and early 1990s indicates that there were between 20 and 52 pairs in Ontario. Information obtained in 1997 and 1998 confirms an optimistic estimate of 50 pairs. In 1999, an extensive survey revealed fewer than 30 calling birds. Accurate population estimates are difficult to obtain because of the King Rail’s secretive nature, but it is certain that there has been no improvement in the Canadian population of the species in recent years.
-Habitat
-King Rails are found in a variety of freshwater marshes and marsh-shrub swamp habitats. The species occurs in areas where wild rice grows but also in sedge and cattail marshes. Most importantly, the species requires large marshes with open shallow water that merges with shrubby areas. In fact, birds only return in successive years to large marshes that are not overgrown with cattails. Originally, the best habitat for King Rails was in southwestern Ontario, but most of these wetlands have since been eliminated. Only 10% of the original pre-European settlement marshes remain in the one area of Ontario where the largest component of the species occurs. The quality of the remaining habitat is also deteriorating.
-Biology
-The King Rail arrives in its breeding range from late April to mid-May. It probably begins breeding in its first or second year. Males establish a territory before pairing, and will aggressively fend off other males. Once settled in a territory, males begin calling. They use courtship feeding to attract and maintain females. They also provide food for their mates throughout the egg-laying and incubation periods. The nests are deep bowls of grass constructed just above the water in bushes or clumps of marsh vegetation. In Ontario, females lay a single clutch per year, of 6 to 13 buff-coloured eggs. Both sexes share in incubation and rearing responsibilities. The King Rail has also been known to mate successfully with the slightly smaller clapper rail, which is considered by some to be a salt-water race of the King Rail. The diet of the King Rail consists mainly of crayfish and crabs but includes fish, insects and some plant seeds.
-Threats
-The main limiting factor is habitat loss. While the loss may have slowed over the last decade, the habitat may still be deteriorating. Current losses stem from both pollution and increased cattail abundance related to artificial maintenance of water levels. A major limiting factor for the species may be the annual burning of a large portion of the marshland in which the largest Canadian population of king rails occurs. The full extent of this factor has not yet been evaluated.
-Protection
-The King Rail is protected under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA).
-The King Rail occurs in several national wildlife areas, which are federal lands protected under SARA. It is the protected by the Canada National Parks Act within Point Pelee National Park. It is also protected by the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act. Under this Act, it is prohibited to kill, harm, or collect adults, young, and eggs. Provincially, it is protected under the Ontario Endangered Species Act.
+==Habitat==
+Freshwater or brackish marshes and marsh-shrub swamp habitats.
+==Taxonomy==
+King Rail and [[Clapper Rail]] are closely related and are sometimes considered conspecific. [[Aztec Rail]] was formerly included in this species.
+====Subspecies====
+There are 2 subspecies<sup>[[#References|6]]</sup>:
+*''R. e. elegans'' - East [[Canada]] and north-eastern [[US]]; winters to eastern [[Mexico]]
+*''R. e. ramsdeni'' - [[Cuba]] and Isle of Youth
+==Behaviour==
+====Breeding====
+Male announces presence within territory by giving repeated hard "kek" calls.  They make nests of grass or marsh vegetation constructed just above the water in bushes or clumps of marsh vegetation.  May place nest anywhere from dry ground to over more than 2 ft of water.  Often nest in rice fields in southeastern states.  Nests are usually domed with an entrance ramp.  Six to 13 buff-coloured eggs are laid. Both sexes share in incubation and rearing responsibilities.  Chicks are downy black with pied white-and-black bills upon hatching.  The chicks are semi-precocial, being able to walk shortly after hatching but remaining dependent on the parents for food and protection for several weeks.
+====Diet====
+Mainly crayfish and crabs, but also includes other aquatic invertebrates, small fish, insects, and some plant seeds.
+==References==
+# Sibley, David A. 2000. ''The Sibley Guide to Birds''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780679451228
+# Poole, Alan F. et al. 2005. King Rail (Rallus elegans). ''The Birds of North America Online'' (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/003.
+# Brinkley, Edward S. 2007. ''Field Guide to Birds of North America''. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 9781402738746
+# Howell, Steve N.G. and Sophie Webb. 1995. ''A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America''. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198540120
+# Raffaele, Herbert et al. 2003. ''Birds of the West Indies''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN 9780691113197
+#{{Ref-Clements6thAug17}}#{{Ref-GillDonsker14V4.4}}
+{{ref}}
 ==External Links==
-*[http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php?si=Rallus+elegans&x=13&y=9&perpage=15&sort=1&cat=all&ppuser=&friendemail=email%40yourfriend.com&password= View more images of King Rail in the gallery]
+{{GSearch|Rallus+elegans}}
-[[Category:Birds]]
+[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Rallus]][[Category:Maps]]