Virginia Rail

Virginia Rail

Taxobox
name = Virginia Rail
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1


image_width = 200px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Gruiformes
familia = Rallidae
genus = "Rallus"
species = "R. limicola"
binomial = "Rallus limicola"
binomial_authority = Vieillot, 1819

The Virginia Rail, "Rallus limicola", is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.

Adults are mainly brown, darker on the back and crown, with orange-brown legs. They have long toes, a short tail and a long slim reddish bill. Their cheeks are grey, with a light stripe over the eye and a whitish throat.

Their breeding habitat is marshes from Nova Scotia to California and North Carolina, also in Central America and South America. The female lays 5 to 13 eggs in a platform built from cattails and other plants in a dry location in the marsh. Both parents care for the young, who are able to fly in less than a month.

Northern populations migrate to the southern United States and Central America. On the Pacific coast, some are permanent residents.

These birds probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and aquatic animals.

This bird has a number of calls, including a harsh "kuk kuk kuk", usually heard at night.

These birds remain fairly common despite continuing loss of habitat, but are secretive by nature and more often heard than seen.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External links

* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i2120id.html Virginia Rail - Rallus limicola] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Virginia_Rail.html Virginia Rail Species Account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [http://www.sdakotabirds.com/species/virginia_rail_info.htm Virginia Rail Information and Photos] - South Dakota Birds and Birding
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=virginia+rail&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Virginia Rail photo gallery] VIREO; (with picture: egg clutch)
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=1243 Virginia Rail videos] on the Internet Bird Collection


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • virginia rail — noun Usage: usually capitalized V : an American long billed rail (Rallus limicola) resembling the king rail in color but scarcely larger than the sora * * * a long billed American rail, Rallus limicola, having blackish and reddish brown plumage.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Virginia rail — virgininė vištelė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Rallus limicola angl. Virginia rail vok. Virginiaralle, f rus. центральноамериканский пастушок, m pranc. râle de Virginie, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas – ilgasnapės… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • Virginia (rail) fence — ☆ Virginia (rail) fence or Virginia fence n. a zigzag fence made of rails laid across one another at the ends: also called snake fence, worm fence * * * …   Universalium

  • Virginia (rail) fence — ☆ Virginia (rail) fence or Virginia fence n. a zigzag fence made of rails laid across one another at the ends: also called snake fence, worm fence …   English World dictionary

  • Virginia (rail) fence — ☆ Virginia (rail) fence or Virginia fence n. a zigzag fence made of rails laid across one another at the ends: also called snake fence, worm fence …   English World dictionary

  • virginia rail fence — noun see virginia fence * * * Virginia fence or Virginia rail fence, a fence made of rails laid zigzag; snake fence …   Useful english dictionary

  • Virginia rail fence — Fence Fence (f[e^]ns), n. [Abbrev. from defence.] 1. That which fends off attack or danger; a defense; a protection; a cover; security; shield. [1913 Webster] Let us be backed with God and with the seas, Which he hath given for fence impregnable …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Virginia rail — Virgin′ia rail′ n. orn a small, long billed North American rail, Rallus limicola, having blackish and reddish brown plumage • Etymology: 1775–85 …   From formal English to slang

  • Virginia rail — noun Date: 1813 an American long billed rail (Rallus limicola) that has gray cheeks …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Virginia rail — a long billed American rail, Rallus limicola, having blackish and reddish brown plumage. See illus. under rail3. [1775 85, Amer.] * * * …   Universalium

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