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Black Rail

Laterallus jamaicensisOrder: GRUIFORMESFamily: Rails and Coots (Rallidae)

Black Rail Portrait
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General

Black Rail: Smallest North American rail, mostly dark gray or nearly black with white-speckled back, belly, and flanks. Nape and upper back are chestnut-brown. Eyes are red. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has brown to orange eyes.

Range and Habitat

Black Rail: Nests on marshes and open grasslands from southern New England to the Gulf coast states. Spends winters from the southern Atlantic coast states south to Central America. Preferred habitats include marshes, swamps, and wet meadows.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kic-kee-doo", "kic-kic-kerr"

Interesting Facts

  • The Black Rail is extinct or threatened in many locations due to habitat loss. The largest populations in North America are in Florida and California.
  • Measuring only about the size of a sparrow, they are the smallest North American rail.
  • The name rail is derived from the Latin verb "raelare," which means "to scrape" and is a good description of one of the bird's vocalizations.
  • 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 Black Rail
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Laterallus jamaicensis
Length6 Inches
Wingspan10.5 - 11.5 Inches

Black Rail

Black Rail: Smallest North American rail, mostly dark gray or nearly black with white-speckled back, belly, flanks. Nape and upper back are chestnut-brown. Eyes are red. Eats seeds of aquatic plants, grasses and grains, insects and small marine crustaceans. Weak fluttering flight with legs dangling.

● Song: "kic-kee-doo", "kic-kic-kerr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Black Rail: Feeds on seeds of aquatic plants, grass, insects, and isopods (small crustaceans).

● Breeding & nesting: Black Rail: Four to thirteen brown-spotted, pale pink to white eggs are laid in a deep cup of finely woven soft grass, sedges, or other available vegetation. Nest is usually concealed in a clump of green grass, with grass arched over so it is hidden. Both parents incubate the eggs for about 28 days. Sometimes produces two broods per year.

● Similar species: Black Rail: Resembles chick of other rails, which lack white spots on upperparts and bars on flanks.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering floppy flight with legs dangling.
Black Rail Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Black Rail: Nests on marshes and open grasslands from southern New England to the Gulf coast states. Spends winters from the southern Atlantic coast states south to Central America. Preferred habitats include marshes, swamps, and wet meadows.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationUncommon to rare
MigrationMost migrate
Weight1.2 Ounces