Black Rail

Black Rail
The secretive Black Rail is truly a bird more often heard than seen. They are very reluctant to fly when disturbed, preferring to slip unseen along mouse trails in marsh habitat. When forced to fly, they typically flutter short distances with dangling legs. But their migratory flight shows they are able to fly for longer distances. These rails can also swim short distances.

The males give a distinctive kic-kic-kerr call during the breeding season. While an advertising male may call every few second during the night, they rarely sing during the day. They are most often heard in early to late May from an hour or so after sunset to an hour before dawn. Interestingly, females may occasionally also sing kic-kic-kerr. The males also sometimes sing a low whoo, whoo, whooo. Not to be outdone, so do the females. Black rails also make other sounds that are similar to those made by other rail species. High winds, cold temperatures and bright moonlit nights are said to make Black Rails less likely to call.

So Black Rails prefer to sing at night, hide on marshy mouse trails, and generally fly only short distances. Small wonder then that the breeding behavior of such a reclusive bird is not well known. We do know that Black Rails prefer the drier parts of marshes. More so than other rail species, Black Rails are typically found in the drier areas of a marsh, where the water is less than an inch deep.

Black Rails usually nest along the edges of marshes, hidden in areas of dense vegetation. They occasionally build over water, but here the extremes of tidal action may destroy the nest. The female lays six to ten eggs and both parents incubate. The precocious young leave the nest in 24 hours but are brooded by parents for a few days. Both parents attend the chicks. Adults undergo a complete molt in July or August and are flightless for about three weeks.

Black Rails are distributed locally at inland marshes in eastern and central U.S., but for most of these locations there have been no confirmed breeding records since the 1930s. They are more regularly found in coastal marshes along the Atlantic Coast from Long Island south to central Florida, along the Gulf Coast and locally in west-central and coastal California, and along the Colorado River. The species also occurs in parts of Central America, and in Chile, Peru, and Argentina.
Black Rail Range Map

Description: This diminutive rail has black upperparts with white speckles on the lower back, rump, tail and wings. A chestnut patch extends across the nape to the sides of the neck. The sides of the face, throat and breast are dark gray, and the flanks are black with fine white barring. The adult's eyes are red, and the bill is black. Juveniles have similar plumage, but have brownish eyes, and less black on the head.

Black Rails are distinctive, but are sometimes confused with the chicks of other rails, which may be the same size, and all black. Note that the Black Rails have an all-dark bill, a speckled pattern along their upperparts, and a chestnut nape.