[mou] King Rail sound Vs Virginia Rail sound?

[Rich Peet]

Please humor a birder here that has never seen a King Rail in MN.
In fact I am not sure on how to differentiate the call between the Virginia 
and the King.

Linked is two files that I had identified as Virginia Rails.  Please confirm 
they are Virginia and give an indication of the unique part of a King call 
that I should listen for when listening to Rails.

Not a great recording as I did not target this bird and was simply testing a 
couple microphones.
recorded 4/18/03, Shurburn WLR, N45.45807, W93.70802, 6:30AM, 30 degrees F, 
Overcast, Wind east at 5mph, edge of wetland on auto tour route. I have this 
bird calling for 1 hour.

285kb download
http://home.comcast.net/~richpeet/kingvvirginia1.mp3

712kb download
http://home.comcast.net/~richpeet/kingvvirginia2.mp3

Rich Peet


>From: KarlBardon@aol.com
>To: Wildchough@aol.com, mou-net@cbs.umn.edu
>Subject: [mou] Re: [mou] Accidental? No, we're not kidding (very long)
>Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 13:03:25 EST
>
>Either way, I think that Accidental clearly defines the current status of
>King Rail in Minnesota—a species which has not been seen since 1992 and 
>is likely
>to occur again only at very infrequent intervals. When MORC completed the
>1999 checklist, King Rail had been seen in only three of the last ten 
>years, but
>we erred on the side of positivity, and defined this species as Casual. The
>last nesting attempt was in 1983 and the last positive breeding was in 
>1976.
>This species has not been Regular since the 1978 edition of our checklist, 
>so a
>move to Accidental is not at all unexpected or surprising. What alternative
>status does Russell suggest for King Rail? Casual? Regular? Extirpated? 
>Extinct?
>These are the only choices.
>
>Russell acts surprised that King Rail has changed status in the last 20 or 
>30
>years, but think of all the species which have changed significantly in 
>that
>amount of time (on the 1978 checklist, House Finch was considered
>Hypothetical, Baird's Sparrow was Regular but is now Accidental, and Lesser 
>Black-backed
>Gull did not even occur on the checklist even thought it is now Regular).
>
>Russell claims King Rails may breed in South Dakota, but the current status
>of this species in South Dakota is Accidental (!), with only two breeding
>records, the last in 1974 (Tallman, Swanson and Palmer, 2002). Although 
>Russell
>also claims King Rails breed in Iowa and Wisconsin, a quick internet check 
>showed
>this species to be both Endangered and Casual in Iowa, and to be rare in
>Wisconsin with Special Concern or "imperiled" breeding status (the current
>Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas does not show any confirmed breeding 
>reports). Thus, he
>has painted a picture of King Rails breeding all around Minnesota based on
>faulty information.
>

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