Chicken Like Marsh Bird

Black Rail

Laterallus jamaicensis
Black Rail thumbnail
Length: 6 in. (15 cm )
This small and secretive rail is difficult to see in its habitat of freshwater and brackish marshes and wet savanna grasslands. It is best found when it sings, often only at night and early dawn at the beginning of the breeding season. In Arizona it is easiest to see running along beaver dams across grass and marsh-lined rivers along the lower Colorado River and its tributaries. The nest is a deep cup woven from grass and sedges and with a shade canopy in dense marsh grass. They feed mainly on insects and small aquatic or marine crustaceans as well as an occasional seed.

The four-digit banding code is BLRA.


Marsh / swamp
Bird Sound Type: Buzzing
Sex of Bird: Male
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Bird Sound Type: Buzzing
Sex of Bird: Male
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Bibliographic details:

  • Article: Black Rail
  • Author(s): Dr. Biology
  • Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
  • Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
  • Date published: July 13, 2017
  • Date accessed: March 7, 2024
  • Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/black-rail

APA Style

Dr. Biology. (2017, July 13). Black Rail. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved March 7, 2024 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/black-rail

American Psychological Association. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

Chicago Manual of Style

Dr. Biology. "Black Rail". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 13 July, 2017. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/black-rail

MLA 2017 Style

Dr. Biology. "Black Rail". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 13 Jul 2017. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 7 Mar 2024. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/black-rail

Modern Language Association, 7th Ed. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
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