King Rail
Rallus elegans
Large, bright rail of freshwater marshes. Generally uncommon to rare across range. Note rich orange neck and face, contrasty black-and-white barring on sides, and rich brownish upperparts with distinct dark streaks. Females are duller than males. Very similar to Clapper Rail, especially on the Gulf Coast. Habitat is a good first clue: King prefers freshwater marshes with extensive cattails or other reeds; rarely found in brackish or saltwater marshes like Clapper. King is also brighter overall with more contrasting pattern on the sides and upperparts. Beware that King and Clapper can hybridize where fresh and saltwater meet; some birds are best left unidentified. Listen for series of harsh "kek" notes or loud, rasping grunts erupting from marsh, slower and deeper than Clapper Rail.
Identification
Distinct features are a long bill with a slight downward curve, with adults being brown on the back and rusty-brown on the face and breast with a dark brown cap. They also have a white throat and a light belly with barred flanks. Undertail coverts are white and are displayed by the male during courtship. Immature birds are covered in down, with light brown on the head and darker brown on the back and wings.<p>This bird's call is a low repeated grunt transcribed as kek-kek-kek.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Rallus elegans
- Authority
- Audubon, 1834
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Rallus
Range and habitat
This bird breeds in marshes in eastern North America. Birds along the southeastern coasts of the United States are permanent residents. Other birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico; in Canada, they are found in southern Ontario. An adult king rail will molt completely after nesting and it becomes flightless for almost a month.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
This bird is diurnal, contrasting with its smaller, nocturnal relatives.<p>The nest is a raised platform built with marsh vegetation and covered by a canopy. This is to hide the eggs of this bird from predators that are searching from above.<p>The king rail interbreeds with the clapper rail (Rallus crepitans) where their ranges overlap; some researchers[who?] believe that these two birds belong to the same species.[citation needed]<p>The king rail lays a clutch of 6 to 14 pale buff eggs with brown spotting. They usually measure 41 by 30 millimetres (1.6 by 1.2 in). Both parents incubate the eggs for 21 to 23 days. When the eggs hatch, the young are covered in down and are able to leave the nest. They are not able to feed themselves, though, and thus must rely on their parents for food for up to six weeks after they hatch.<p>This rail forages in shallow water near cover and eats mainly aquatic insects and crustaceans. It forages by probing the mud while moving around in shallow water.<p>The chicks are fed small arthropod prey by their parents. The prey is transferred from one parent's beak to that of the chick.<p>Males often give food to whomever they pursue during courtship.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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