Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)

County List:

Rule:

Forested or Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      Marsh 2 

2nd alternative:
      Marsh 2

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Habitat: Virginia Rails live in shallow, freshwater emergent wetland of every size and type from roadside ditches and borders of lakes and streams to large cattail marshes. In Michigan, the Virginia Rail often occurs with the Sora, but tends to prefer slightly drier habitats. Both species are capable of using extremely small marshes. Berger found 5 Virginia Rails and 4 Sora nests in a 0.2 ha marsh. Both species construct their nests from surrounding marsh vegetation.

Interspersion of open water and vegetation is an important habitat component for most rails. The Virginia Rail's frequent use of edges for both nesting and foraging has been reported. Nearly 62% of its diet consists of insects. Predaceous diving beetles, water scavenger beetles, flies, and snails are among the most preferred prey.

Habitat: Breeding: Freshwater marshes with abundant vegetation such as sedges and cattails. Occasionally found in brackish and salt marshes. Widespread breeder at lower elevations. Wintering: Mainly in tidal marshes.

Special Habitat Requirements: Wetlands with sedge and cattail edge.

Habitat: Fresh and brackish marshes; in winter, also salt marshes. Nests in a variety of marshy situations, mostly fresh, but also brackish marsh near coast. Where this species and Sora breed in same marshes, Virginia Rail typically places its nest in drier spots. Often moves into salt marshes in winter. During migration, sometimes found in odd spots, even city streets.

Diet: Mostly insects, crayfish, snails; some seeds. Feeds on a wide variety of aquatic insects and their larvae, especially beetles, flies, dragonflies, many others. Also eats crayfish, earthworms, snails, slugs, a few small fish. Seeds may be important in diet at times.

Nest: Site is in marsh, in dry area, or over very shallow water, placed a few inches up in dense clump of vegetation. Nest is platform of cattails, reeds, grasses, usually with living plants forming a canopy over it.