Virginia Rail

A pair lets loose with long, rough bursts of grunting that sound almost piglike.

Breeds across southern Canada, the northern United States, and locally in the West; winters mainly in the southern U.S., Mexico, and Central America. Year-round resident along the Pacific Coast and parts of the Gulf Coast where marsh habitat is permanent.

Freshwater and brackish marshes with dense emergent vegetation such as cattail, bulrush, sedge, and reed canary-grass; occasionally wet meadows and flooded rice fields.

Most northern populations migrate nocturnally from late August–October and March–May. Peak vocal activity occurs shortly after arrival on breeding grounds and again at dusk and dawn during the nesting season.

A secretive marsh bird about the size of a robin but with the body of a chicken, the Virginia Rail is built to slip between cattails and sedges. It has a laterally compressed body, strong legs, and a long, slightly decurved bill used to probe soft mud for prey. Though rarely seen, it is surprisingly agile, running rather than flying when flushed and even capable of climbing reeds with its long toes.