The king rail is a waterbird, the largest North American rail.
Region
Eastern North America
Typical Environment
Found from the Great Lakes and southern Ontario south through the Mississippi Valley and along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts into the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico. Prefers extensive freshwater marshes with cattails, bulrushes, sedges, and shallow, slow-moving water. Also uses brackish marshes, wet prairies, rice fields, and vegetated ditches. Wintering birds concentrate in the southeastern U.S., Gulf Coast, and into Mexico where freeze-free wetlands persist.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1000 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The king rail is the largest North American rail, favoring sprawling freshwater and brackish marshes with dense emergent vegetation. It often overlaps with the clapper rail in coastal areas, and the two can hybridize where their habitats meet. Populations have declined with wetland drainage and degradation, making habitat conservation crucial for this secretive marsh bird.
At Huntley Meadows in Virginia
A chick
Temperament
secretive and elusive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, direct flights over marsh vegetation
Social Behavior
Generally solitary or in pairs during the breeding season, defending territories within dense marshes. Monogamous pairs build concealed nest platforms of marsh vegetation; both sexes incubate and tend the precocial young. Outside breeding, may occur in loose, small groups in extensive wetlands.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations include a carrying series of kek notes (kek-kek-kek) and clattering grunts given from within cover, especially at dawn and dusk. Calls are penetrating and rhythmic, often the best clue to presence in dense marshes.
Plumage
Warm rufous neck and breast, heavily streaked brown-and-black upperparts, and boldly barred black-and-white flanks. Underparts show buff to cinnamon tones, with a paler throat and a distinct pale eyebrow. Long, slightly decurved bill and relatively long legs adapted to marsh walking.
Diet
Eats crayfish and other crustaceans, aquatic and terrestrial insects, small fish, snails, and amphibians. Will also take seeds and grains opportunistically, especially in agricultural wetlands. Forages by probing mud, gleaning from vegetation, and flipping debris at the water’s edge or in shallow water.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along the edges of shallow freshwater marshes, vegetated sloughs, and wet meadows with firm substrates. Also uses rice fields, irrigation canals, and brackish marsh margins where prey is abundant and cover is available.
