Because they are reclusive birds and quick runners, Virginia Rails are rarely seen and many of their characteristics and behaviors have not been documented. They can be recognized in their environments by their distinctive grunting vocalization.
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Although the Virginia Rail is a registered game species in most of the United States and Canada, it is rarely harvested by hunters. Degradation of its wetland habitat may have caused a decrease in populations. No special regulations have been made for the Rail, but general waterfowl management regulations have proven beneficial to its wetland environment. The species population is now considered stable. This observation may or may not be accurate, since these rails have not been studied extensively.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Approximately 100,000 rails are harvested annually in the United States and Canada through hunting.
Using its long, curved bill, the Virginia Rail probes the muddy soils and shallow waters of its habitat for food. It most often consumes small aquatic invertebrates, such as beetles, spiders, snails, and true bugs. In the winter, when these foods are less available, it also eats aquatic plants and seeds.
The Virginia Rail can be found locally in its wetland habitat throughout the northern and western United States, SW Ontario, S British Columbia, and S Quebec. Its wintering range includes Mexico, all of Florida, and the Gulf Coast of the United States.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Rails perfer freshwater marshes and wetlands. The most important features of their habitat include shallow water, an emergent cover of cattails and bulrushes, and a high invertebrate abundance in the water. They forage in standing water, moist soil, and mudflats.
Terrestrial Biomes: forest
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds
The Virginia Rail is a small, reddish bird with grey cheeks. The bill is also reddish and is long and slightly downward curving. The Rail has a short, upturned tail with a banded black and white flank below. Males and females are very similar and cannot be sexed in the field.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Pairs are thought to be monogamous. Either males or females may initiate bond formation, which spans a period of one or two weeks. During this time, pairs engage in mutual preening, courtship feeding, copulation, and defense of territory. Nests are built in May. Both the male and female build the nest, which is located in marshes containing cattails and bulrushes. A canopy is often built above the nest by bending and weaving adjacent vegetation. Along with the nest, numerous "dummy" nests are built within their territory. Clutch size varies greatly with geography, but the average size seems to be 8-9 eggs. Both sexes incubate, and the young hatch about 19 days after incubation begins. Young are covered with black down and development progresses rapidly; young begin to run down the nest ramp to drink and swim only 11 hours after hatching.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
A small (9 inches) rail, the Virginia Rail is most easily identified by its mottled brown back, rusty neck, streaked flanks, and dark gray face patch near the eye. This species may be separated from the similarly-colored King Rail (Rallus elegans) by that species’ much larger size and browner face. Male and female Virginia Rails are similar to one another in all seasons. The Virginia Rail breeds across southern Canada and in northern and western portions of the United States. Northerly-breeding populations migrate south to the coastal southeast and Mexico in winter, whereas populations breeding in the Mid-Atlantic region, on the Pacific coast, and in the interior southwest are non-migratory. Other non-migratory populations exist in central Mexico and Guatemala. Virginia Rails breed in a variety of marshland habitats in areas of fresh or brackish water. This species utilizes similar habitat types in winter as in summer. Virginia Rails primarily eat small invertebrates, such as insects and crustaceans, but may also eat seeds and aquatic plant material during the winter. In appropriate habitat, Virginia Rails may be seen wading in shallow water while foraging for food on the shore or on the mud of the submerged bank. If these birds are more hidden, perhaps beneath tall marsh grasses, it may still be possible to hear their call, a grating “wak-wak-wak” repeated many times in succession. Virginia Rails are primarily active during the day, although they may be heard calling at night.
The Virginia rail (Rallus limicola) is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae. These birds remain fairly common despite continuing loss of habitat, but are secretive by nature and more often heard than seen.[2] They are also considered a game species in some provinces and states, though rarely hunted.[3] The Ecuadorian rail is often considered a subspecies, but some taxonomic authorities consider it distinct.
Adults are mainly brown, darker on the back and crown, with orange-brown legs. To walk through dense vegetation, they have evolved a laterally compressed body and strong forehead feathers adapted to withstand wear from pushing through vegetation. Virginia rails have the highest ratio of leg-muscle to flight-muscle of all birds (25% - 15% of body weight respectively). They have long toes used to walk on floating vegetation. Their tail is short and they have a long slim reddish bill. Their cheeks are grey, with a light stripe over the eye and a whitish throat. Chicks are black. Juveniles are blackish brown on upperparts with rufous on the edge of feathers and brownish bill and legs. Their underparts are dark brown to black, while the face is grayish brown.[4] Both sexes are very similar, with females being slightly smaller. Adults measure 20–27 cm, with a wingspan of 32–38 cm, and usually weigh 65-95 g.
The Virginia rail is in the genus Rallus, a genus of other long-billed rails. It is thought to be closely related to R. semiplumbeus and R. antarcticus. There are currently two recognized subspecies of Rallus limicola:
The Virginia rail lives in freshwater and brackish marshes, sometimes salt marshes in winter. Northern populations migrate to the southern United States and Central America. On the Pacific coast, some are permanent residents. Its breeding habitat is marshes from Nova Scotia to Southern British Columbia, California and North Carolina, and in Central America. It often coexists with soras, another species of wetland rail.
The Virginia rail often runs to escape predators, instead of flying. When it does fly, it is usually short distances or for migration. It can also swim and dive using its wings to propel itself.
This bird has a number of calls, including a harsh kuk kuk kuk, usually heard at night. It also makes grunting noises. In spring, it will make tick-it or kid-ick calls.
The Virginia rail probes with its bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. It mainly eat insects and other aquatic invertebrates, like beetles, flies, dragonflies, crayfish, snails and earthworms. It can also eat aquatic animals like frogs, fish and some small snakes, as well as seeds. Animal preys constitute the biggest part of this bird's diet, but vegetation contributes to its diet in the fall and winter.
Courtship starts around May. The male will raise his wings and run back and forth next to the female. Both sexes bow, and the male feeds the female. Before copulation, the male approaches the female while grunting.[5] Virginia rails are monogamous. Both parents build the nest and care for the young, whereas only the male defends the territory. The nest is built as the first egg is laid and consists of a basket of woven vegetation. The nest is made using plants like cattails, reeds and grasses. They also build dummy nests around the marsh. They nest near the base of emergent vegetation in areas with vegetation creating a canopy above the nest.[6]
This birds lays a clutch of 4 to 13 white or buff eggs with sparse gray or brown spotting. The eggs generally measure 32 by 24 millimetres (1.26 by 0.94 in). They are incubated by both parents for a period of 20 to 22 days, in which the parents continue to add nesting material to conceal the nest.[6] When the eggs hatch, the parents feed the young for two to three weeks, when the chicks become independent. The young can fly in less than a month. The pair bond between the parents breaks after the young become independent.
The Virginia rail (Rallus limicola) is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae. These birds remain fairly common despite continuing loss of habitat, but are secretive by nature and more often heard than seen. They are also considered a game species in some provinces and states, though rarely hunted. The Ecuadorian rail is often considered a subspecies, but some taxonomic authorities consider it distinct.