ARE KING RAILS HIDING IN YOUR
MARSH?
Identification Fact Sheet
Table of Contents
The King Rail (Rallus elegans) is listed
as an Endangered species
both federally and provincially. Only an estimated 25 to
50 pairs remain in Canada and southern Ontario, being the northern
extent of its breeding range. The decline of the King Rail population,
both in Canada and in the United States, has been largely attributed
to loss of its wetland habitat. Our key recovery goals are to determine
current population status and distribution, and to protect and increase
the King Rail population and its habitat.
In recent years, special surveys have documented King Rail occurrences
in several Great Lakes coastal and inland marshes associated with
Lakes Ontario, Erie, St. Clair and Huron. It is suspected that King
Rails are also waiting to be discovered in other wetlands in southern
Ontario. The King Rail is a difficult bird to detect due to its
rarity and secretive nature. Use of tape-recorded broadcast calls
is likely the most efficient survey method, but an awareness of
the bird’s physical appearance and its preferred habitat characteristics
will also be helpful in locating King Rails. This
fact sheet provides information to help identify King Rails through
visual and auditory cues and characteristics of King Rail habitat.
VOCAL CHARACTERISTICS
Due to the elusive nature of the King Rail, it is more likely to
be detected through its vocalizations, most often in early
morning and evening during breeding.
However, some calls of the King Rail may be easily confused with
those of the Virginia Rail. To hear some calls of these two birds,
check out this webpage www.wildspace.ec.gc.ca.
Here are the most common calls of King Rail, and their Virginia
Rail analogues.
“gump.gump.gump” call
This deep grunting “gump.gump.gump” call, which starts
off loudly and ends more softly in volume, may be confused with the
Virginia Rail’s high-pitched “waka.waka.waka”
call. The King Rail’s “gump.gump.gump” call is
much deeper and louder in tone (resonance), and it does not descend
in tone pitch nor speed up. The Virginia Rail’s “waka.waka.waka”
call speeds up (like a bouncing ping-pong ball) as it descends in
tone and softens in volume. If the Virginia Rail is a “baritone”,
then the King Rail is a “bass”.
“check.check.check.check” call
This call is a series of several harsh “checks”, all
similar in tone and volume, and given in an even tempo. This call
is not similar in any way to any Virginia Rail’s calls.
“kik.kik.kirrrr” call
This call is a loud, rapid, high-pitched series of two to three
syllables, quite harsh and “urgent-sounding” in nature,
with emphasis on the “kirrrr” syllable. It is similar
to the Virginia Rail’s “kicker” call, but the
Virginia Rail’s call has a few more “kiks” and
sounds more musical.
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HABITAT
In Ontario, the King Rail has been associated primarily with emergent
coastal marsh, often dominated by cattails
(Typha spp.), sedges (Cyperaceae), and
common reed (Phragmites australis).
Scattered shrubs are also frequently
nearby. The extent to which King Rails occupy inland wetlands is
uncertain but there are several historic and recent records, suggesting
that survey efforts should not ignore these areas. Minimum wetland
area requirements are unknown. These birds have been primarily found
in marshes greater than 70 hectares (173 acres). Still, marshes
as small as 3 hectares (7.5 acres) may also provide suitable
habitat. King Rails have also been found in restored wetlands and
impoundments. King Rails seem to favour wetlands that offer a range
of water depths (from less than 25 cm to up to a metre),
which in turn provide areas of dense cover,
hummocky topography (or clumps
of vegetation rising up from the wetland), and some
exposed mud. An interspersion of wet
and dry areas appears to be a key element.
Adults feed on a variety of aquatic organisms, usually while well
concealed by a plant cover of marsh vegetation, but occasionally
in open shallow water (i.e., moist to 8 cm deep) or on mud flats.
They feed particularly at dawn or dusk.
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NESTS
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King
Rail / George K. Peck |
Nests contain 10 to 12 eggs and are built over shallow water, on
or near grass or sedge tussocks, or at the base of a shrub. Occasionally,
nests are found in upland fields adjacent to wetlands. Nests are
well concealed and are composed of a base of decaying vegetation,
a circular platform of dry grasses, sedges or rushes, a canopy of
bent stalks, and an entrance ramp. Several “brooding nests”
without canopies may be found near the nest that is used for egg
laying and incubation.
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BREEDING
CHRONOLOGY
King Rails are migratory birds. They arrive on their breeding grounds
in Ontario from mid April to early May. Nest building is initiated
during mid May to June. They migrate south in the fall.
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This
fact sheet was produced by Ducks Unlimited Canada
through the government of Canada Habitat Stewardship Program
for Species at Risk and on behalf of the King Rail Recovery
Team, with contributions from Bird Studies Canada, Canadian
Wildlife Service – Ontario Region, Ontario Breeding Bird
Atlas, Essex Region Conservation Authority and Ontario Ministry
of Natural Resources. |
CONTACT INFORMATION
If you find a King Rail or potential King Rail habitat, please
carefully record the location, a detailed description of the habitat,
time and date, or to request more information, contact: Environment
Canada 1-866-833-8888 or Ducks Unlimited Canada 1-866-389-0418.
This information will then be passed on to members of the
national King Rail Recovery Team for follow up.
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