Yellow Rail
Encyclopedia
The Yellow Rail, Coturnicops noveboracensis, is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae
.
Adults have brown upperparts streaked with black, a yellowish-brown breast, a light belly and barred flanks. The short thick dark bill turns yellow in males during the breeding season. The feather
s on the back are edged with white. There is a yellow brown band over the eye and the legs are greenish-yellow.
Their breeding habitat is wet meadows and shallow marsh
es across Canada
east of the Rockies
; also the northeastern United States
and the entire northern US-Canadian border Great Plains
to the Great Lakes
. A small population may exist in northern Mexico
. The nest is a shallow cup built with marsh vegetation on damp ground under a canopy of dead plants.
The Yellow Rail migrates
to the southeastern
coastal United States
.
The diet consists mainly of insect
s, snail
s and seed
s.
The Yellow Rail are very elusive and seldom seen; when approached, they are more likely to rely on camouflage
than flight. The bird's call, usually given at night, sounds like two stones being clicked together. Their numbers have declined in recent years due to loss of habitat.
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
.
Adults have brown upperparts streaked with black, a yellowish-brown breast, a light belly and barred flanks. The short thick dark bill turns yellow in males during the breeding season. The feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s on the back are edged with white. There is a yellow brown band over the eye and the legs are greenish-yellow.
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
east of the Rockies
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
; also the northeastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the entire northern US-Canadian border Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
to the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. A small population may exist in northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The nest is a shallow cup built with marsh vegetation on damp ground under a canopy of dead plants.
The Yellow Rail migrates
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to the southeastern
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
coastal United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The diet consists mainly of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s and seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
The Yellow Rail are very elusive and seldom seen; when approached, they are more likely to rely on camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
than flight. The bird's call, usually given at night, sounds like two stones being clicked together. Their numbers have declined in recent years due to loss of habitat.
External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet
- Yellow Rail Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Yellow Rail - Coturnicops noveboracensis - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Yellow Rail Information - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Yellow Rail photo-High Res; RangeMap & synopsis InfoNatura NatureServe