Wow Tom, these are a first for me as well! You sure did a great job with the opportunity you were offered. I would have been thrilled if I had been there. Congrats
Sweet series here. These birds look more like Clapper Rails to me, BUT I'm not very experienced in differentiating Kings from Clappers because it's not something I ever have to do here in Indiana. Your birds look like a spot on match for the Atlantic race of the Clapper Rail illustrated in the Big Sibley on pg. 152. Notably, the coloration is brownish/grayish overall without much hint of orange, which the King Rails show in my experience. Additionally, there appears to be more white in the tail, which appears to be more consistent with Clapper when comparing it to Sibley. While I feel very comfortable with the majority of eastern US birds, the Clapper vs. King Rail ID is one I have only had to make once, and that was three years ago.
Again, nice set of shots, especially given the conditions!
This is going to be interesting. I just emailed the photos to LSU to the go-to guy who heads up the Museum for Birds who is an amazing birder. According to him, whatever they are, they do not look like pure Kings. Due to the habitat (both freshwater and brackish) there could be Clappers and Kings in the vicinity. And, there is fairly rampant hybridization where they occur together and birds in brackish habitats are largely intermediates. So, the birds could be hybrids (or "Kling Rails" as they are called) but he can't rule out pure Clapper. He is emailing the 'Rail Man' a guy who did his doctoral work on Rails and see what he thinks.
Tim Kuhn wrote:
Wow Tom, these are a first for me as well! You sure did a great job with the opportunity you were offered. I would have been thrilled if I had been there. Congrats
Tim
Hi Tim. I wish you could have been there. It was a blast !!
At least you don't have to worry about being in -20 degree weather, twisting your foot in the snow and breaking your ankle like some people I know.
KINGOFKNGS wrote:
I'm quite certain these are Clapper Rails. Were they photographed in Louisiana?
Ryan
Hi again Ryan. Yes, they were photographed in Louisiana (see your first post in thread for details). I have been fortunate to see Clapper Rails, King Rails, Virginia Rails, Yellow Rails and Soras. Once upon a time I heard a Black Rail (the Holy Grail Rail) call but never saw it.
This is going to be interesting. I just emailed the photos to LSU to the go-to guy who heads up the Museum for Birds who is an amazing birder. According to him, whatever they are, they do not look like pure Kings. Due to the habitat (both freshwater and brackish) there could be Clappers and Kings in the vicinity. And, there is fairly rampant hybridization where they occur together and birds in brackish habitats are largely intermediates. So, the birds could be hybrids (or "Kling Rails" as they are called) but he can't rule out pure Clapper. He is emailing the 'Rail Man' a guy who did his doctoral work on Rails and see what he thinks.
Sounds like a plan, Tom! I only questioned the ID as an educational point for myself. I'm as into the birding side of things as I am the photography, so any chance I find to learn about identification, I take it, especially on infrequently seen species. For what it's worth, I had a friend look at this bird who is far more experienced with these than I am, and he thought it was definitely a Clapper; that said I'm waiting to hear what the Rail doctorate says about it!
