Species: Rallus limicola

Virginia Rail

Species

Birds

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Salish Sea-reliant birds

Terrestrial vertebrates: birds

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Gruiformes

Family

Rallidae

Genus

Rallus

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106335

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Rascón Limícola - râle de Virginie

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Gruiformes - Rallidae - Rallus - The form occurring in Colombia and Ecuador is considered a distinct species (Rallus aequatorialis, Ecuadorian Rail) by some authorities (Ridgely and Greenfield 2001).

Ecology and Life History

Migration

false - true - true - Arrives in northern breeding areas generally in April-May, departs by October-November (Bent 1926); in Michigan, most have departed by mid-October (Brewer et al. 1991). May make local migrations in the Pacific states, generally extensive migrations elsewhere.

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Eats insects, worms, crustaceans, and other invertebrates, seeds of aquatic plants (especially in fall), duckweed, and occasionally small fishes. Preferred prey includes predaceous diving beetles, water scavenger beetles, flies, and snails (see Brewer et al. 1991). Probes into mud with bill, often among or next to vegetation adjacent to open water. (Terres 1980, Cogswell 1977).

Reproduction Comments

Lays clutch of 5-12 eggs, April-June on the U.S. West Coast, May to June or July in the middle Atlantic and northern states. Incubation lasts about 19-20 days, by both sexes. Young leave nest soon after hatching, tended by both parents. Black downy chicks have been observed as late as August in Michigan (Brewer et al. 1991). Cornell Nest Record Program records indicate a nest success rate of 0.53 (Conway et al. 1994).

Ecology Comments

In Arizona, annual survival probability was 0.53; all documented mortality occurred between October and March (Conway et al. 1994).

Length

Weight

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-11-25

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-25

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

BREEDS: locally from southern British Columbia to Newfoundland, south to northwestern Baja California, southern Arizona, west-central Texas, Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina; also Louisiana, central Mexico, and South America. NORTHERN WINTER: southern British Columbia to northern Baja California and north to the Gulf Coast and North Carolina.

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106335