Summary 



Audubon described the King Rail. Alexander Wilson and, for a 

 while at least, Audubon considered it to be some form, perhaps an 

 adult, of the Clapper Eail. Audubon and Bachman, staunch friends, 

 spent a lot of time together in the Charleston area, where Bachman 

 was able to show Audubon that the large rufescent rail was associated 

 almost entirely with the fresh- water marshes and ricefields, while the 

 "ash-coloured" rail was a denizen of the salt marshes. By so doing, 

 Bachman apparently convinced Audubon that the two were distinct 

 species. 



The King Rail is essentially an inhabitant of fresh and brackish 

 marshes, while the Clapper Rail is more an inhabitant of salt marshes. 

 In some transition areas, however, particularly in the lower reaches 

 of brackish river marshes, both species occur and sometimes inter- 

 breed. Viable eggs resulting from a mixed mating are known to occur, 

 and some specimens taken in areas of interbreeding appear to be hy- 

 brids. Further study is necessary to understand more precisely the 

 relationship between King and Clapper Rails. 



RaMus elegans elegans is restricted mostly to the humid section of 

 North America, east of the 100th Meridian. The Cuban form, R. e. 

 ramsdeni^ is restricted to Cuba and the Isle of Pines. A third form, 

 R. e. tenuirostris (sometimes considered to be a race of Rallus longiros- 

 tris), is restricted to the fresh- water marshes of the Valley of Mexico. 

 In the United States the King Rail is found in greatest numbers in the 

 South Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain provinces, especially in coastal 

 fresh and brackish marshes and in ricefields. 



While it has 'been shown that the King Rail is migratory, so few 

 birds have been banded that little is known about the time, distance, 

 and routes of migration. Apparently the major routes are along the 

 Atlantic Coastal Plain and through the Mississippi Valley. Most birds 

 probably arrive on the breeding grounds in the north during April 

 and May and depart in August and September. Although most King 

 Rails migrate to the South Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains in the 

 fall, a few individuals may be found wintering almost anywhere 

 within the geographic range of the species. Since there are numerous 

 records of birds wintering in the middle and northern latitudes, it is 

 not known whether birds seen in the spring are recent arrivals from 

 the south or birds that have wintered in the area. Rails are very secre- 

 tive in winter, becoming quite vociferous with the onset of the breed- 

 ing season; thus spring arrival dates may be based on sighting or 

 hearing of birds that have been present in the area for some time prior 



