Black Rail
Black Rail has no long-term trend on record.
About the Black Rail
The Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) is a North American member of the Rails, Gallinules & Coots (Rallidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the wetland birds.
- Size
- 6–19 in long (15–48 cm) — a marsh-dwelling waterbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Marshes, ponds, lakeshores and other freshwater wetlands.
- Diet
- Aquatic invertebrates, small fish, frogs and plant matter.
- Range
- Recorded on 13 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 9 states, most concentrated in the Gulf Coastal Prairie.
- Family
- Rallidae · Wetland birds
Notable Black Rail Trends
No notable trend signals for Black Rail. See the full index history below.
Black Rail Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Black Rail is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.00 (95% range 0.00–0.00). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±26.5%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 2026 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 2027 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 2028 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 2029 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Where the Black Rail Is Detected
BBS routes recording Black Rail, sized by most recent count.
Black Rail Population Trend by State
| Alabama | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Arizona | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| California | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Colorado | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Florida | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Kansas | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Maryland | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| North Carolina | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Texas | +74% | 1997 | 4 |
Black Rail Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | +71% | 1997 | 4 |
Black Rail Conservation Status
Black Rail is tracked across BBS survey routes; no formal conservation-status flag is recorded here.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.