Clapper Rails are chickenlike marsh birds with stout bills and stubby tails. They are noticeably larger than similarly shaped Virginia Rails. Clapper Rails look thin when viewed head-on, as if they have been squeezed together from the sides.

A clattering cackle in the salt marsh is often our first clue to the presence of this big rail. The Clapper Rail is usually hidden in dense cover, but sometimes we see it stalking boldly along the muddy edge of the marsh, twitching its short tail as it walks, or swimming across a tidal creek.

The clapper rail (Rallus crepitans) is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined. It is a large brown rail that is resident in wetlands along the Atlantic coasts of the eastern United States, eastern Mexico and …

The loud, clattering outbursts of Clapper Rails are a signature sound of saltmarshes and mangroves in eastern North America and the Caribbean. It’s much rarer to catch sight of these large, chestnut-and-gray rails, as these shy birds emerge only briefly onto mudflats and quickly vanish again into the dense marsh grasses.

Large, generally drab rail, but plumage variable depending on location. Can look very similar to King Rail. Atlantic coast birds dull grayish-brown overall with few contrasting features; faintly barred gray-and-white on sides and pale orange bill.

Clapper rails are medium-sized terrestrial birds with long, orange bills and short tails. They have gray faces and light, brown-colored heads, while their backs and bellies are dark brown in color.

Basic facts about Clapper Rail: lifespan, distribution and habitat map, lifestyle and social behavior, mating habits, diet and nutrition, population size and status.

The clapper rail is one of the largest rail species, 13 to 16 inches in length. They can be distinguished by their chicken-like appearance, long unwebbed toes, long decurved bill and frequent upturned tail with white under tail covert feathers.

Secretive birds of coastal marshes, Clapper Rails are difficult to study, and their populations are poorly understood. However, it is clear that the destruction of coastal wetlands along the Gulf Coast has significantly reduced the amount of habitat available to them.

The loud, clattering outbursts of Clapper Rails are a signature sound of saltmarshes and mangroves in eastern North America and the Caribbean. It’s much rarer to catch sight of these large, chestnut-and-gray rails, as these shy birds emerge only briefly onto mudflats and quickly vanish again into the dense marsh grasses.