Clapper Rail

Clapper Rail, common name for a ground-dwelling bird that lives in North American salt marshes (see Rail). The clapper rail is found along most of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and along the Pacific coast from California as far south as Peru. It also inhabits the freshwater marshes of the southwestern United States and the mangrove swamps of the Southeast.

At 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 in) from beak to tail, the clapper rail is colored gray-brown on its back and sides and has a cinnamon-colored underside. Its sides are barred vertically with white, an effective camouflage as background light shines through the tall reeds and grasses of its marsh habitat. The clapper rail has a narrow body, a long, down-curved bill, and an extremely short, up-turned tail. It is named for its loud, clattering call, which resembles the sound of an old-fashioned wood clapper. A solitary, elusive bird, it is often heard more than seen. It is noisiest at dusk but may be startled into calling by any sudden loud noise.

The diet of the clapper rail consists of a variety of small prey, including crabs, crayfish, small fish, aquatic insects, mollusks, worms, and frogs. It feeds mostly at low tide, walking in the water or along mud banks where it probes for food with its long bill.

Nesting takes place between March and July. During courtship, the male signals the female by standing still and stretching his neck upward, opening his bill or pointing it downward and swinging his head from side to side. He may also bring food to the female. Both the male and female build the nest, which is usually placed 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) above the ground in clumps of high marsh grasses near the upper reaches of high tide. Constructed of grasses and sedges (grasslike herbs), the cup-shaped nest is 18 to 25 cm (7 to 10 in) across and is lined with finer grasses. The pair also build a ramp of plant material leading from the ground up to the nest, sometimes weaving a canopy of green sedges above the nest.

The female lays 7 to 11 yellowish-olive eggs blotched with brown. The male and female take turns incubating, or warming, the eggs by sitting on them for 20 to 23 days until the young have hatched. The young, born completely black, leave the nest soon after hatching and may move to a second nearby nest. They are fed by both parents until they are able to fly, usually nine to ten weeks after hatching.

Western populations of the clapper rail are endangered and eastern populations have seriously declined, due to a loss of habitat.

Scientific classification: The clapper rail is a member of the rail family Rallidae and is classified as Rallus longirostris.