Birds of Concern: King Rail

	King Rail

The King Rail is a large rail found locally in freshwater wetlands throughout the eastern United States and southern Ontario, with the largest populations occurring along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas. The King Rail is an omnivore and has a diet that consists of aquatic animals and insects during the summer. In the winter these birds enjoy aquatic plant seeds.

Areas of Concern:

• Loss of wetland habitat from a variety of sources including development, agriculture, and transportation.
• Decline in acreage being planted to rice in the southwestern part of the range and changes in rice farming methods.
• Other potential factors that decrease habitat quality in remaining wetlands such as nutrient runoff, invasive species, increase predation rates in fragmented habitat, and saltwater intrusion.
• Click Here to view the FAQ sheet on the King Rail.

Kings Rail Missouri Department of Conservation photo by Noppadol Paothong

Executive Summary of King Rail Conservation Plan (PDF) - Brief summary of the King Rail Conservation Plan including the top five unfunded priorities identified in the plan.
King Rail Conservation Plan - Version I (PDF) - Conservation Plan Developed with Partner Input
Workshop Summary (PDF) - Summary of the King Rail Workshop Held November 14-15, 2006
Location Database (Excel Spreadsheet) - Database Showing Recent King Rail Locations. Send Corrections or Additions to Tom Cooper, see contact information below.
King Rail Bibliography Link - A Bibliography of King Rail Literature Developed by Ashton Drew, Research Associate, North Carolina State University.
King Rail County Distribution Map (JPG) - Counties where King Rail presence has been documented between 1996 and 2006.
More information on the King Rail is available on the USGS web site.