King Rail (Rallus elegans) Morphometric, Nesting, Mortality, and Movement Notes from a Northern Study Area

Dustin E. Brewer^1,2,*, Thomas M. Gehring¹, Brendan T. Shirkey³, and John W. Simpson³

¹Department of Biology, Institute for Great Lakes Research, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859. ²Current address - Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. ³Winous Point Marsh Conservancy, Port Clinton, OH 43452. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 31, Issue 2 (2024): 259–270

First published early online: 9 June 2024

Abstract
Rallus elegans (King Rail) is a secretive marsh bird that has experienced substantial population decline due to habitat loss, especially in the northern portion of its range. Life-history characteristics in this region are largely undescribed for King Rails. We summarized morphometric measurements for 14 King Rails that we caught and radio-tracked in western Lake Erie coastal marshes between 2019 and 2021. We opportunistically noted behaviors and events that could, if supported by similar data from elsewhere in the region, inform conservation efforts and advance general understanding of this species. We described habitat at 2 nest sites, monitored nest success, noted adult behaviors at the nest and in the vicinity of chicks, described 3 mortality events, and documented 5 long-distance movements during the breeding season. We also present estimates of fall-departure dates from our study arear.

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