There are twelve species of rails throughout the world. They are the Carolina, Chick Billed, Clapper, Common, Great Red Breasted, King, Little Black, Little Yellow, Long Billed, Virginia, Yellow and The Black rail. I will speak a little about the Black Rail a fairly uncommon species of bird and the Yellow Rail.
BLACK RAIL The Black Rail is the smallest Rail in North America at about 6 inches in length. It is difficult not to identify this bird when seen because of its black barred head, whose forehead and crown are dusky colored, with the back of its neck and parts of its back is chestnut colored and finely barred with white.
The belly of the Black Rail and the underside of its tail are a deep brown with thin white bars. Around its eye it is colored dusky with some white spots.
The Black Rail's habitat is usually in a wetland near open water. This bird seems to be rare in New England but it does breed in Maine, Connecticut & Massachussetts. The Black rail is distributed throughout Southern Ontario Province, Massachussets, south to Kansas, Illinois and South Carolina.
The Black Rail builds a very well made cupped shape nest made of weed stems and fine grasses in a concealed depression on the ground. Unless you know exactly what you are looking for you could miss the Black Rail's nest.
After mating the female Rail lays 6 to 9 eggs that are marked with small chestnut spots. The pair of rails sometimes have 2 broods in one year.
When the Black Rail is disturbed from it home site it will run swiftly like a mouse through undergrowth and it is seldom seen flying. It flies infrequently although it migrates to The Bermda Islands. In the North American States in its spring, summer and fall habitat it is seldom seen flying. Yet it winters in Texas,The Gulf States, Jamaica, Bermuda, Guatemala. It must fly, it certainly doesn't walk.
In Jamaica it has ben seen hiding its head with its tail cocked up, thinking it is safe making it fair game for any hunter.
The Black Rail's diet consists mostly of Insects, Seeds and Aquatic Invertebrates.
YELLOW RAIL
The status of the Yellow Rail is threatened. This 6 inch bird, similar in size to the Black Rail is a rare visitor inn the north and eastern United States. Like the Black Rail the Yellow Rail is short billed with a yellow background crossed by white bars. In flight, the yellow rail is the only rail with a white patch on the trailing edge of each wing. Its preferred environment is in meadows of sedge with little or no shrub encroachment.
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