Rails, Gallinules and Coots (Rallidae)
King Rail (Rallus elegans) - HBW 3, p. 167
French: Râle élégant
German: Königsralle
Spanish: Rascón Elegante
Taxonomy: Rallus elegans Audubon, 1834, Charleston, South Carolina.
This largely freshwater-marsh bird is often considered conspecific with the largely saltwater-inhabiting R. longirostris; provisionally treated as forming superspecies. Race tenuirostris of C Mexico sometimes considered specifically distinct, or transferred to R. longirostris; Californian races of R. longirostris (levipes, obsoletus, yumanensis) sometimes placed in present species. Hybridization with R. longirostris occurs occasionally in areas of sympatry, and mitochondrial DNA studies of the two species have yielded inconclusive result.. View all taxonomy...
This largely freshwater-marsh bird is often considered conspecific with the largely saltwater-inhabiting R. longirostris; provisionally treated as forming superspecies. Race tenuirostris of C Mexico sometimes considered specifically distinct, or transferred to R. longirostris; Californian races of R. longirostris (levipes, obsoletus, yumanensis) sometimes placed in present species. Hybridization with R. longirostris occurs occasionally in areas of sympatry, and mitochondrial DNA studies of the two species have yielded inconclusive results. Three subspecies currently recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- elegans Audubon, 1834 - E Canada and NE USA; winters S to E Mexico.
- tenuirostris Ridgway, 1874 - C Mexico.
- ramsdeni Riley, 1913 - Cuba and I of Pines.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A bird preening Locality John F. Kennedy Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, Long Island, New York, USA (United States) (ssp elegans)
Roberto Cavalieros 17 April 2006 6 years ago 36 sec 4.1 -
A bird looking for food and entering in the water Locality John F. Kennedy Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, Long Island, New York, USA (United States) (ssp elegans)
Roberto Cavalieros 17 April 2006 6 years ago 23 sec 3.8 -
A bird swimming Locality John F. Kennedy Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, Long Island, New York, USA (United States) (ssp elegans)
Roberto Cavalieros 17 April 2006 6 years ago 23 sec 3.8
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A bird walking in a vegetation
Locality Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Alachua County, Florida, USA (United States)
Tadeusz Stawarczyk 17 May 2007 4 years ago 3
- No sound recordings available yet
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