Virginia Rail

Rallus limicola

The Virginia rail is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae. These birds remain fairly common despite continuing loss of habitat, but are secretive by nature and more often heard than seen. They are also considered a game species in some provinces and states, though rarely hunted. The Ecuadorian rail is often considered a subspecies, but some taxonomic authorities consider it distinct. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 4,644 times across 35 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 17°C (typically 13 to 19°C, from 13 areas). That holds across 25° of latitude, which suggests its timing follows temperature more than the calendar.

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in North America ranged from 37°N in December to 49°N in October, about 1,300 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.