Clapper Rail, Rallus crepitans


Clapper Rail
Above, a Clapper Rail, with cheek pale gray, and breast a subdued brown with little red, as compared to the orangey-brown cheek and more noticeably reddish breast of the recently split off Ridgway's Rail. Clapper Rails are found on the Gulf Coast and and along the East Coast, while within the United States, Ridgway's Rails are mostly confined to California.  The somewhat similar Virginia Rail is distinguished from the Clapper not only by size, but also by its brighter colors and dark gray cheek.