Yellow Rail
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| Yellow Rail Conservation status: See text | ||||||||||||||
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| Coturnicops noveboracensis Gmelin, 1789 |
The Yellow Rail, Coturnicops noveboracensis, is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.
Adults have brown upperparts streaked with black, a yellowish-brown breast, a light belly and barred flanks, with a short thick yellow bill. The feathers on the back are edged with white. There is a yellow brown band over the eye and the legs are greenish-yellow.
Their breeding habitat is wet meadows and shallow marshes across Canada east of the Rockies and the northeastern United States. A small population may exist in northern Mexico. The nest is a shallow cup built with marsh vegetation on damp ground under a canopy of dead plants.
These birds migrate to the southeastern coastal United States.
They mainly eat insects, snails and seeds.
These birds are very elusive and seldom seen; when approached, they are more likely to rely on camouflage than flight. This bird's call, usually given at night, sounds like two stones being clicked together. Their numbers have declined in recent years due to loss of habitat.