Eastern Black Rail
Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis
A black rail. (Photo courtesy Norman Welsh/iNaturalist CC BY-NC)
The eastern black rail is a small, secretive marsh bird. It is approximately the size of a sparrow with black, white-spotted feathers and red eyes.
Appearance
The eastern black rail is four to six inches long with a wingspan of up to 11 inches. It weighs approximately 1.2 ounces. The black rail is mostly gray to black with a black bill and red eyes. They have some brown feathers on their backs and white spots on their dark wing feathers. There is no significant size difference between males and females.
Feeding
Black rails likely eat mostly small invertebrates and seeds, but because they are rarely seen, little is known about their feeding habits.
Predators
The black rail may be preyed on by raccoons, snakes and raptors. However, there are larger threats to the black rail from habitat loss and climate change.
Flight
The black rail often gets around the marsh by walking or running through the grasses rather than flying. It is rarely seen in flight.
Voice
The black rail makes a distinctive “ki-ki-kerrrr” call.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Black rails build their nests on the ground, making a cup, canopy and entrance ramp out of woven marsh plants. They usually lay six to eight white, brown-spotted eggs in June or July and both the male and female take turns incubating them for the next 2.5 to three weeks. The chicks have dark brown eyes when they are first born that turn to olive at around four weeks, then amber at eight weeks, then finally to red at about three months.
Did You Know?
- The black rail is the smallest of all North American rails.
- The eastern black rail is listed as threatened or endangered in Delaware, Maryland, New York and Virginia.
- The black rail is currently proposed for listing as a federally threatened species.
- Sea level rise, changes in precipitation and rising temperatures are causing the loss of marsh habitat black rails need to survive.
- Human impacts, like habitat fragmentation, and invasive species pose a conservation challenge for black rail populations.
Sources and Additional Information
Quick Facts
Species
Native
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Habitat
Black rails live amongst the grasses of salt and freshwater marshes. They are very secretive and often walk or run through the grasses rather than fly.
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Range
Black rails can be found along the coasts of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia in the spring and summer. They live year-round along the more southern Atlantic coast and the Gulf Coast. They also have the potential to live farther inland throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.
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Diet
Small invertebrates, insects, seeds
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Status
Threatened
