I wish to acknowledge Taylor's recent complement about my large rail
expertise, however richly undeserved it is.  I deny being a large rail
expert and only consider myself a large rail enthusiast.  I am still
frequently surprised by their confusing vocalizations and the amazing extent
to which they overlap.  In my meager experience, I have found only 2 calls
which I believe can be used to separate the two species with more than 90%
certainty:  the ticking call of Clappers, which tends to start slowly, speed
up in the middle, and slow down at the end of each series, and the ticking
call of Kings, which tends not to speed up & usually has a much steadier
cadence.  I have found that the "grunt" calls overlap like crazy, to the
point of being inseparable.  And occassionally Clappers can give a ticking
series on an even cadence that will make you positive you have a King, until
it walks out in the open.  To further confound the situation, it is now well
known that the formerly-safe "hip-hip-hoorah" call of Kings is frequently
given by Clappers as well. I have heard Clappers, as well as seen Clappers,
give this call on several occasions.

With respect to Deal Island, it is my suspicion that on the inside of the
impoundment, the water might actually be fresh enough to be attractive to
Kings.  On occasion I have thought I might have heard Kings there, but have
definitely seen and heard Clappers numerous times, both inside and outside
of the impoundment.  Therefore, I still feel the bottom line is that if you
think you might have a King Rail, your best bet for confirmation is to see
it.  Occasionally, patience is rewarded.  I have been fooled many times
trying to guess which large rail would show up.....so much more to learn!

Hal Wierenga
Arnold, MD


----- Original Message -----
From: Taylor McLean <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 12:26 PM
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Deal Island WMA & Rail Question


> I beleive that the King Rail has a ticking vocalization which is not as
long
> as the
> vocalization of the ticking Clapper Rail. The King may also slow down a
> little more at the end.