Species

Virginia rail

Rallus limicola

A small, rusty rail with a long bill that winters secretively in Georgia's marshes.

Photo Rhododendrites (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Migration

At a glance

Size: About 20 to 27 cm long
Weight: About 65 to 95 g
Habitat: Freshwater and brackish marshes with dense cover
Diet: Insects, snails, worms, small fish and seeds
In Georgia: An uncommon winter visitor, October to April
Voice: A grunting "wep-wep-wep" and a descending series of oinks
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Rusty breast; grey face; long, slightly drooping reddish bill; barred black and white flanks
Told apart from: King rail, which is twice the size
Told apart from: Sora, which has a short yellow bill
Where to look: Muddy edges of dense marsh, especially at dawn

Behaviour

Virginia rails creep through dense marsh vegetation, probing mud with their long bills. Their bodies are laterally compressed, letting them slip between stems.

Why they matter

Virginia rails are a good sign that a marsh has dense, healthy vegetation and plenty of invertebrates. They migrate at night and are sometimes found in towns after flying into lit buildings.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A loose cup in marsh plants
Eggs — Usually 5 to 12
Incubation — About 18 to 20 days
Chicks — Leave the nest within a day
Flight — At about four weeks
Lifespan — A few years

Living around people

A rail found in a street or car park after a night of migration is usually stunned from a collision; it needs a rehabilitator.

Misconceptions

A rail in a town is lost. It was migrating at night and was probably drawn down by lights.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering	Wintering	Migrating north	Last birds leave	Nesting farther north	Nesting	Chicks	Young independent	Migration begins	Arriving in Georgia	Wintering	Wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 70 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

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