# King rail > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/King_rail > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/King_rail.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_rail > Source revision: 1356783220 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | image = KingRail23.jpg | status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2021 |title=''Rallus elegans'' |article-number=e.T62155060A178673909 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T62155060A178673909.en}} | genus = Rallus | species = elegans | authority = [Audubon](/source/John_James_Audubon), 1834 | range_map = Rallus elegans map.svg | range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#FF7F2A|Breeding}}{{leftlegend|#7137C8|Year-round}} }} The '''king rail''' ('''''Rallus elegans''''') is a waterbird, the largest [North America](/source/North_America)n [rail](/source/Rallidae). ==Description== [[File:Blending in.jpg|thumb|At [Huntley Meadows](/source/Huntley_Meadows_Park) in [Virginia](/source/Virginia)]] Distinct features are a long [bill](/source/beak) with a slight downward curve, with adults being brown on the back and rusty-brown on the face and breast with a dark brown cap. They also have a white throat and a light belly with barred flanks. Undertail coverts are white and are displayed by the male during courtship.{{cite web|url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/king-rail|website=Guide to North American Birds|publisher=National Audubon Society|title=King Rail|access-date=12 April 2023}} Immature birds are covered in [down](/source/Down_feather), with light brown on the head and darker brown on the back and wings. This bird's [call](/source/bird_song) is a low repeated grunt transcribed as ''kek-kek-kek''. {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 87%;" |- ! colspan="2" | Standard Measurements |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [length](/source/Bird_measurement) || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|15.5|-|19|in|mm|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [weight](/source/Bird_measurement) || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|290|g|oz|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [wingspan](/source/Bird_measurement) || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|19|in|mm|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [wing](/source/Bird_measurement) || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|159|-|177|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [tail](/source/Bird_measurement) || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|56|-|72.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [culmen](/source/Bird_measurement) || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|58|-|65.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [tarsus](/source/Bird_measurement) || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|52|-|64|mm|in|abbr=on}} |} ==Distribution and habitat== This bird breeds in [marsh](/source/marsh)es in eastern North America. Birds along the southeastern coasts of the United States are permanent residents. Other birds [migrate](/source/bird_migration) to the southern [United States](/source/United_States) and [Mexico](/source/Mexico); in [Canada](/source/Canada), they are found in southern [Ontario](/source/Ontario). An adult king rail will molt completely after nesting and it becomes flightless for almost a month.{{cite web|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/King_Rail|title=King Rail|website=All About Birds|publisher=Cornell University|year=2023|access-date=19 April 2023}} ==Ecology== This bird is [diurnal](/source/diurnality), contrasting with its smaller, [nocturnal](/source/nocturnal) relatives.{{cite book|last=Hauber|first=Mark E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evQvBAAAQBAJ|title=The Book of Eggs: A Life-Size Guide to the Eggs of Six Hundred of the World's Bird Species|date=1 August 2014|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-05781-1|location=Chicago|page=61|author-link=Mark Hauber}} ===Breeding=== The [nest](/source/bird_nest) is a raised platform built with [marsh](/source/marsh) vegetation and covered by a [canopy](/source/Forest_canopy). This is to hide the eggs of this bird from predators that are searching from above. The king rail interbreeds with the [clapper rail](/source/clapper_rail) (''Rallus crepitans'') where their [ranges](/source/range_(biology)) overlap; It can be argued that these two birds belong to the same species according to the biological [species](/source/species) concept. thumbnail|A chick The king rail lays a [clutch](/source/Clutch_(eggs)) of 6 to 14 pale buff eggs with brown spotting. They usually measure {{convert|41|by|30|mm|in}}. Both parents incubate the eggs for 21 to 23 days. When the eggs hatch, the young are covered in [down](/source/Down_feather) and are able to leave the nest. They are not able to feed themselves, though, and thus must rely on their parents for food for up to six weeks after they hatch. ===Feeding=== This rail forages in shallow water near cover and eats mainly aquatic [insect](/source/insect)s and [crustacean](/source/crustacean)s. It forages by probing the mud while moving around in shallow water. The chicks are fed small arthropod prey by their parents. The prey is transferred from one parent's beak to that of the chick. Males often give food to whomever they pursue during courtship. ==Status== These birds are still common in some [coast](/source/coast)al areas, although interior populations have declined due to [habitat loss](/source/habitat_loss). In Michigan, it is considered a legally protected state endangered species, at an imperiled level.{{Cite web|title=Rallus elegans (King rail) - Michigan Natural Features Inventory|url=https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/species/description/10967/Rallus-elegans|access-date=2021-08-20|website=mnfi.anr.msu.edu}} ==References== {{Reflist|refs= {{cite book |last=Godfrey |first=W. Earl |date=1966 |title=The Birds of Canada |location=Ottawa |publisher=National Museum of Canada |page=122}} {{cite book |last1=Garrido |first1=Orlando H. |last2=Kirkconnell |first2=Arturo |title=Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba |publisher=Comstock, Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, NY |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8014-8631-9 |pages=76–77}} {{cite book |last=Sibley |first=David Allen |author-link=David Allen Sibley |date=2000 |title=The Sibley Guide to Birds |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |page=[https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/153 153] |isbn=0-679-45122-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/153 }} }} ==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} * {{BirdLife|62155060|Rallus elegans}} * {{Avibase|name=Rallus elegans}} * {{InternetBirdCollection|king-rail-rallus-elegans|King rail}} * {{VIREO|King+rail}} * {{NeotropicalBirds|kinrai4|King rail}} * {{IUCN_Map|62155060/178673909|Rallus elegans}} * {{Xeno-canto species|Rallus|elegans|King rail}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q1265381}} king rail Category:Birds of Cuba Category:Birds of Mexico Category:Native birds of the Eastern United States Category:Near threatened fauna of North America king rail --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [King rail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_rail) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_rail?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.