Eastern Black Rail
A sparrow-sized, federally threatened marsh bird so secretive that most birders only ever hear it.
All year
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct (this month)
- Nov
- Dec
Why it’s sensitive
The Black Rail is about the size of a sparrow and lives hidden under dense marsh grass, running rather than flying. The eastern subspecies is listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act; the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service calls it “extremely vulnerable to disturbance” — so vulnerable that it chose not to publish maps of its critical habitat, to avoid revealing where the birds are.
Florida and Texas are its strongholds. In Northeast Florida records are rare, but high salt and brackish marsh with very shallow water is exactly its habitat, so a bird could turn up in our marshes.
When
All year. Both eBird and iNaturalist protect it in every season.
How eBird handles it
The Black Rail is on eBird’s Sensitive Species list across the whole United States, all year. Sightings are hidden from other people’s view of your checklist and from hotspot pages, and appear on maps only as a large grid square.
How iNaturalist handles it
iNaturalist obscures Black Rail observations throughout the United States, all year.
What we ask of members
- Never play recordings to try to see or hear one. Playback draws birds out of cover and can disrupt nesting — and for a threatened species it can count as harassment.
- Stay on trails and boardwalks; don’t walk into the marsh to flush a rail.
- Don’t share the location anywhere — not even the name of a small marsh or the neighborhood beside it. Report it to eBird and tell a site administrator privately; we’ll make sure the right people know.
- Black Rails call mostly around dusk and at night. If you hear a sharp kik-kee-doo from a marsh, note the time and place and report it.
Learn more
At a glance
- SensitiveAll year
- Report it?Yes — eBird and iNaturalist protect it automatically
- Share the spot?No — name the park or county only