Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis)

County List:

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

      Marsh 2 (with grass/sedges)
      or Sedge Meadow
      or Bog (with grass/sedges)

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Stenzel found Yellow Rails in open bog and sedge meadow heavily dominated by tall, mat-forming sedge. He believed that fluctuating water levels and periodic fires were important in maintaining such habitat. Community associates tend to be Sandhill Cranes, Common Snipe, Sedge Wren, and Savanna Sparrow. LeConte's Sparrows tend to occur in such habitats in the north and Henslow's Sparrows in the south. The available descriptions of nesting habitat suggests that Yellow Rails require large marshes.

Somewhat erratic in occurrence on the breeding grounds: may be common at a given locale in wet years, scarce or absent in dry years.

Habitat: Grassy marshes, meadows. In summer, favors large wet meadows or shallow marshes dominated by sedges and grasses. Typically in fresh or brackish marsh with water no more than a foot deep. In winter mostly in coastal salt marsh, especially drier areas with dense stands of spartina; also rice fields, damp meadows near coast.

Diet: Mostly insects, snails, seeds. Diet not well known, but small freshwater snails reported to be important at some seasons. Eats a wide variety of insects (especially aquatic ones), also spiders, small crustaceans, probably earthworms. Also eats many seeds, at least in fall and winter.

Nest: Site is in shallow part of marsh, on damp soil or over water less than 6 inches deep. Nest is shallow cup of sedges and grasses with concealing canopy of dead plants above it. May build more than one nest, with extra(s) being used for brooding the chicks after they leave their hatching nest.