King Rail

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