Yellow Rail
Yellow Rail has risen sharply: up 59% on the route-weighted index since 1979.
About the Yellow Rail
The Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) 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 20 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 5 states, most concentrated in the Prairie Potholes.
- Family
- Rallidae · Wetland birds
Notable Yellow Rail Trends
No notable trend signals for Yellow Rail. See the full index history below.
Yellow Rail Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Yellow Rail is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.00 (95% range 0.00–0.01). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±158.7%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| 2026 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| 2027 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| 2028 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| 2029 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
Where the Yellow Rail Is Detected
BBS routes recording Yellow Rail, sized by most recent count.
Yellow Rail Population Trend by State
| Michigan | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Minnesota | +5% | 1981 | 9 |
| North Dakota | +3% | 1982 | 6 |
| Oregon | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Wisconsin | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
Yellow Rail Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Prairie Potholes | -16% | 1982 | 11 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | -1% | 1981 | 5 |
Yellow Rail Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 59% since 1979.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.