King Rail

Rallus elegans Order: GRUIFORMES Family: Rails and Coots (Rallidae)
King Rail Portrait
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King Rail Variations:

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General

King Rail: Large rail with long, orange-based bill. Underparts are orange-brown with strongly barred black and white flanks. Prominent chestnut-brown patch on wing is visible on both standing and flying birds. Female is duller overall and shows rufous-brown mixed in with black and white barred flanks. Juvenile lacks the rich colors of adults and has dark gray-brown and white mottled underparts.

Range and Habitat

King Rail: Prefers freshwater marshes along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts from Texas to New York.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kek"

Interesting Facts

 The King Rail was first described in 1834 by John James Audubon, an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. It it is the largest North American rail.

 It usually gets its food in aquatic habitats, but will feed on insects away from water. When it catches food on land, it often takes the item to water and dunks it before eating it.

 They interbreed with the Clapper Rail where their ranges overlap; some researchers believe that these two birds belong to the same species.

 A group of rails are collectively known as a "hill" and a "rumor" of rails.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for King Rail

Related Birds

Least Bittern
Clapper Rail
Common Moorhen
Purple Gallinule
Sora
Virginia Rail
Limpkin
.
Family
Species Rallus elegans
Length15 Inches
Wingspan20 Inches

King Rail

King Rail: Large rail with long, orange-based bill. Brown and red-brown mottled upperparts. Underparts are orange-brown with strongly barred black, white flanks. Prominent chestnut-brown patch on wing is visible on standing and flying birds. Feeds in shallow water or mudflats exposed at low tide.

● Song: "kek"

● Foraging & Feeding: King Rail: Feeds among floating or emergent vegetation in freshwater marshes and swamps. Generally stays well hidden as it feeds, but may stray onto open shorelines and edges of mudflats as it searches for aquatic insects and crustaceans. Also feeds on frogs, clams, and seeds of marsh plants.

● Breeding & nesting: King Rail: Lays six to fifteen brown spotted, buff eggs in intricate woven nest well hidden among dense marsh plants. Nest has woven canopy over it and a sloping entrance ramp. Both sexes incubate for 21 to 23 days, and the precocial young leave nest within hours after hatching. Both parents feed chicks until they start finding their own food after about 3 weeks.

● Similar species: King Rail: Clapper Rail has less conspicuous edging on feathers of upperparts, but is very difficult to separate. Much smaller Virginia Rail has gray cheeks.

Flight Pattern

Quick short feeble flights on short wings.
King Rail Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: King Rail: Prefers freshwater marshes along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts from Texas to New York.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight14.6 Ounces