Râle élégant

Grand râle aux couleurs vives des marais d'eau douce. Généralement peu commun à rare dans son aire de répartition. Noter son cou et sa face orange riches, ses barres contrastées noir et blanc sur les flancs, et ses parties supérieures brunâtres riches avec des stries sombres distinctes. Les femelles sont plus ternes que les mâles. Très similaire au Râle gris, surtout sur la côte du Golfe. L'habitat est un bon premier indice : le Râle royal préfère les marais d'eau douce avec de vastes roselières ou autres roseaux ; rarement trouvé dans les marais saumâtres ou salés comme le Râle gris. Le Râle royal est également plus éclatant dans l'ensemble avec un motif plus contrasté sur les flancs et les parties supérieures. Attention, le Râle royal et le Râle gris peuvent s'hybrider là où l'eau douce et l'eau salée se rencontrent ; certains oiseaux sont mieux laissés non identifiés. Écouter une série de notes « kek » rauques ou de grognements forts et râpeux provenant du marais, plus lents et plus profonds que ceux du Râle gris.

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.This bird's call is a low repeated grunt transcribed as kek-kek-kek.

Répartition et 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

Comportement

This bird is diurnal, contrasting with its smaller, nocturnal relatives.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.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]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.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.The chicks are fed small arthropod prey by their parents. The prey is transferred from one parent's beak to that of the chick.Males often give food to whomever they pursue during courtship.