Populations of this species has been known to be found year-round in parts Arizona, the coast of California, the northern tip of Washington State, and eastern Virginia. There have even been rare sightings of the Virginia rail in Bermuda and Greenland. This species has one subspecies Rallus limicola limicola that is limited to the Mexican Plateau. BirdLife International, ; Conway, ; Glisson, et al. Virginia rails are known to inhabit elevations between 0 and 2, m the upper limit in Peruvian mountains.
During their breeding season Virginia rails can be found in lower elevations, mostly in freshwater marshlands with an adequate concentration of emergent vegetation between 40 cm and cm , such as cattails Typha and bulrush Scirpus. They are found mostly in shallow to intermediate waters 0 to 15 cm and frequent mudflats.
They avoid deeper waters 20 to 40 cm , but will inhabit these areas if there is a sufficient amount of fallen of floating vegetation on which they can walk and forage. Their winter habitat is similar to that of their breeding habitat except for those who live in Arizona.
That populations moves away from the open waters of the marshes to marshy habitats with more cover and with emergent vegetation height that exceeds cm. Virginia rails are marshland birds with a mass of 55 to g across both sexes. Females are generally smaller than males, with a mass between 64 g and 77 g and a wingspan between 89 mm and mm.
Males have an average weight between 79 g and g, with an average wingspan of 99 mm and mm. In length they range from 22 to 27 cm. Their body feathers, legs and bill are all reddish brown in color and their cheek feathers are gray in color. Their chestnut wings contain a small 1 mm claw on the fifth digit.
Hatchlings begin with black down feathers. Their first molt begins at about 2 weeks of age. By 6 weeks, they have their full juvenal plumage, which is a little duller and less contrasting than breeding adult plumage.
Juveniles can be further identified by the pale pink color on their bills and a black band on the distal end of the upper mandible. The irises of juveniles are black at hatching but changes to brown during development and eventually reddish brown in adults. The skin around the eyes of chicks is a dark bluish-black. This color is also found of most of their head as well. By the time the juveniles depart for fall migration, their plumage matches that of the adults. Adult males and females look alike.
Of note, rails are reported by Conway as possessing the highest leg muscle to flight muscle ratio of any bird group.
This ratio probably explains why they are adapted to running strong leg muscles and poor, brief fliers. Bolenbaugh, et al. Virginia rails are monogamous. Their courtship is very brief and is recognized by the tick-it calls heard within the territory.
Either sex can initiate this courtship. Part of the courtship, lasting up to 2 weeks, is silently standing side-by-side minute blocks of time. Males perform a dance where they run in circles around the females with their wings raised above their bodies and they flit their tails, bowing in the front of the females with each pass. Once a pair bond is formed they engage in the preening of themselves and their mate called autopreening and allopreening, respectively , chasing each other around their nesting area, and the actual act of mating.
They exchange calls, engage in courtship feeding and defend their territory together. In captive studies, mating was noted 20 days before the first egg was laid and stopped after the last egg was laid. Nest building begins about one week before the first egg is laid, usually in early May. The nest is made with whatever plants are most available, like cattails Typha or bulrush Scirpus.
The outer diameter of the nest was reported as The thickness of the vegetation surrounding the nest provides adequate cover and concealment from predators.
The nest is not typically made near open water but is relatively close to shallow water with emergent vegetation. The pair bond can last longer than the bond between the parent and its young, but it breaks before their migration or right after their young fledge. Conway, The breeding season for the Virginia rails begins in early April and can last until early September. During this time paired Virginia rails can have up to two broods each with a range of 4 to 13 eggs mean 8.
Clutch size of populations in the northern end of the region tends to be higher than populations further south. Nesting females lay one egg per day and the first egg can be found as early as the first week of April to as late as mid-July. Depending on latitude, the peak of egg-laying is in May or June. The incubation period lasts about 19 days. During the incubation period partners feed one another. Forty-eight hours before hatching the eggs begins to crack and peeping can be heard from within.
It can take the chick up to thirty-six hours to break free from its shell. Most hatchings are synchronous in that they follow each other within the next two days after the first hatching. Chicks are precocial with a mean mass of about 5. It is thought that the young gain 1.
They can preen themselves and their siblings within four hours post-hatching and eat within the first two hours. They forage while hidden in vegetation, or along the edges between marshes and mudflats.
They find prey by sight and possibly by smell, usually grabbing food items from the surface or making shallow probes into the ground. Many prey are swallowed whole, and pellets of indigestible material such as clam shells are later regurgitated.
Clapper Rails sometimes wash debris from clams before eating. Behavior Clapper Rails live most of their lives on the ground, concealed amid dense vegetation. They occasionally climb into tall vegetation to investigate a sound or call of another animal.
They rarely fly; they instead walk in an often irregular path with neck outstretched, and tail erect, jerking up and down if agitated. Birds may run in response to a threat, holding tail and head straight out and body horizontal.
These birds spend much of their time foraging for prey, which they capture by gleaning from the surface or from shallow probes with their bills into the substrate.
Clapper Rails are territorial during nesting season, but may form loose colonies, though this is less because they are social, and more because habitat availability and high water levels concentrate individuals onto higher ground. Birds respond to alarm calls and behaviors of other species. They swim well, and will dive if threatened. Most Rails are similar in shape and size, but have many individual differences. Some species have longer bills, while others have quite short ones. Most species have relatively long legs, stout bodies, and camouflaged plumage.
Their feathers are primarily brown, dark brown, black, and tan. The very largest species weigh about five pounds on average, though most species weigh around a pound or less.
There are many different species of birds in the Rail family. Each species is unique and different, and some species are downright amazing! Learn more about some of the different species below. Different species of these birds live in a wide variety of habitats, though most live primarily in semi-aquatic regions.
They live and forage in wetlands, swamps, marshes, estuaries, lakes, ponds, and similar habitats. There are several species that live in more high and dry regions however. Some live in rainforest, savanna, subtropical forest, grassland, and more.
These birds live across most of the landmasses on earth. They do not live in Antarctica, high mountainous regions, or deserts, but they do live virtually everywhere else. Order: Gruiformes The order Gruiformes comprises a diverse group of mostly aquatic or marsh-dwelling birds. Despite their wet habitat, members of this order do not have webbed feet, although in some groups their strong toes are slightly webbed or lobed.
Of eleven families worldwide just two are represented in Washington:. Family: Rallidae This family is made up of wetland dwellers, most with long, unwebbed toes coots' toes are lobed. Rails are typically elusive and cryptic, while coots are gregarious. Most family members are omnivores and use a variety of foraging techniques. The young are precocial and can walk, swim, and feed themselves shortly after hatching.
Both parents help provide parental care for the young. Listen Source of Bird Audio. Click to View. Habitat Virginia Rails are found primarily in freshwater marshes and less often in brackish marshes. Behavior Virginia Rails are very secretive birds that are more likely to be heard than seen. Diet Virginia Rails feed on a variety of aquatic insects such as beetles and flies.
Nesting Both sexes build the well-concealed nest, adding material as eggs are being laid and incubated.
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