Yellow Rail

Table

Yellow Rail – Accepted
1. undated 1800s	*	near Alviso SCL	2004-572	10,14,30	specimen lost
2. 15 Dec 1863	HY	Martinez CC	1984-128	9	ph., MVZ 4460
3. 10 Apr 1882	ASY	SM	1984-168	10	ph., CAS 70771
4. 28 Dec 1883	*	Alvarado ALA	2004-573	10,30	specimen lost
5. ? 1884		Eureka HUM	1986-312	14	ph., CMEHS 908, one of two reported
6. 15 Apr 1889	SY	Quincy PLU	2004-017	10,29	ph., CAS 73833
7. 24 Apr 1889	*	Quincy PLU	2004-574	10,30	specimen lost
8. 02 Jan 1893	ASY	Redwood City SM	2004-018	10,29	ph., CAS 73835
9. 24 Apr 1894	ASY	Quincy PLU	1984-122	9	ph., MVZ 57968
10. 23 Dec 1894	AHY	Redwood City SM	2004-019	10,29	ph., CAS 73836
11. 12 Dec 1896	*	Newport Bay ORA	2004-575	10,30	specimen lost
12. 21 Dec 1896	AHY	Redwood City SM	2004-020	10,29	ph., CAS 73834
13. 22 Jan 1897	ASY	Redwood City SM	2004-021	10,29	ph., CAS 73838
14. 24 Oct 1897	HY	Redwood City SM	2004-022	10,29	ph., CAS 73839
15. 21 Nov 1897	AHY	Alameda ALA	1984-170	10	ph., CAS 43783
16. 16 Nov 1898	AHY	Pt. Reyes Station MRN	1984-121	9	ph., MVZ 81933
17. 14 Dec 1898	AHY	Alviso SCL	1984-169	10	ph., CAS 11750
18. 20 Dec 1898	AHY	Sonoma SON	1984-167	10	ph., CAS 21616
19. 07 Nov 1900	HY	Alameda ALA	1984-170	10	ph., CAS 58796
20. 20 Nov 1900	HY	Pt. Reyes Station MRN	1984-174	10	ph., CAS 43782
21. ? 1901 or ? 1902	AHY/ASY	Mountain View SCL	1984-180	10	ph., CAS 15548
22. 27 Dec 1903	HY	Locks Marsh, Scotts Valley SCZ 1984-026/1984-134		9	ph., MVZ 91349, Roberson (1980)
23. 27 Dec 1903	AHY	Locks Marsh, Scotts Valley SCZ	1984-135	9	ph., MVZ 91350
24. 27 Oct 1905	HY	Pt. Reyes MRN	1984-172	10	ph., CAS 38890
25. 28 Oct 1905	HY	Alameda ALA	1984-178	10	ph., CAS 58799
26. 30 Oct 1905	HY	Alameda ALA	1984-177	10	ph., CAS 58798
27. 30 Oct 1905		Pt. Reyes MRN	1994-127	18	ph., CMN 9065
28. 31 Oct 1905	HY	Locks Marsh, Scotts Valley SCZ	1984-129	9	ph., MVZ 91351
29. ? Nov 1905	*	Pajaro R., vic. Pajaro MTY	2004-576	14,30	specimen lost
30. 05 Nov 1905	HY	Locks Marsh, Scotts Valley SCZ	1984-130	9	ph., MVZ 91352
31. 05 Nov 1905	HY	Locks Marsh, Scotts Valley SCZ	1984-131	9	ph., MVZ 91353
32. 05 Nov 1905	HY	Locks Marsh, Scotts Valley SCZ	1984-130	9	ph., MVZ 91354
33. 12 Nov 1905	AHY	Locks Marsh, Scotts Valley SCZ	1984-133	9	ph., MVZ 91355
34. 24 Nov 1905	HY	Pt. Reyes MRN	1984-173	10	ph., CAS 38891
35. 27 Dec 1905	HY	Pt. Reyes MRN	1984-171	10	ph., CAS 34743
36. 27 Dec 1905	AHY	Pt. Reyes MRN	1984-175	10	ph., CAS 34742
37. 02 Nov 1908	HY	MER	1984-181	10	ph., CAS 12823
38. 14 Nov 1908	AHY	MER	1984-182	10	ph., CAS 13500
39. 30 Dec 1908	HY	MER	1984-183	10	ph., CAS 13501
40. 19 Oct 1910	HY	Suisun Marsh SOL	1984-125	9	ph., MVZ 24900
41. 17 Nov 1910	HY	ALA	1984-176	10	ph., CAS 58797
42. 28 Dec 1910	AHY	Suisun Marsh SOL	1984-124	9	ph., MVZ 17250
43. 01 Jan 1911	SY	Suisun Marsh SOL	1984-123	9	ph., MVZ 17251
44. 17 Nov 1911	HY	Mayfield SCL	2004-023	10,29	ph., CAS 73837, not Redwood City SM as stated in previous literature
45. 30 Nov 1911	AHY	Los Banos MER	1984-126	9	ph., MVZ 22141
46. 30 Nov 1911	HY	Los Banos MER	1984-127	9	ph., MVZ 22142
47. 04 Jan 1912	ASY	Redwood City SM	2004-024	10,29	ph., CAS 73840
48. 17 Nov 1912	HY	Rincon Valley SON	1984-119	9	ph., MVZ 23339
49. 31 Jan 1914	ASY	Corona RIV	1984-136	9	ph., MVZ 54552
50. 08 Dec 1915	*	Suisun Marsh SOL	2004-577	10,30	specimen lost
51. 09 Oct 1917		Shandon SLO	1990-025	14	ph., MVZ 30727
52. 06 Jun 1922	*	Long Valley MNO	2004-578	10,30	nest with 8 eggs per Dawson (1923)
53. 22 Feb 1936	SY	Pt. Reyes Station MRN	1984-120	9	ph., MVZ 100442
54. 01 Jun 1939	*	Bridgeport Valley MNO	2004-579	10,30	ph., SBCM 17205 egg set
55. 31 May–02 Jun 1939	*	Bridgeport Valley MNO	2004-580	10,30	ph., WFVZ 139804 egg set
56. ? Jun 1939	*		2004-581	14,30	additional birds heard
57. 04 Jun 1939	*	Long Valley MNO	2004-582	14,30	nest
58. 02–08 Oct 1970		Pacific Grove MTY	1984-230	10,17
59. 15 Jul 1985		Mono Lake Co. Park MNO	1985-158	11
60. 12 Dec 1985		Alameda ALA	1986-160	12
61. 03 Dec 1986		Tomales Bay MRN	1987-156	12
62. 02 Jan 1987		Eel R. mouth HUM	1987-089	12	ph., HSU 6435
63. 07–17 Feb 1987		Samoa HUM	1988-079	13
64. 02–21 Dec 1987	AHY	Tomales Bay MRN	1987-399	13	ph., CAS 84063
65. 17–19 Jan 1988		Palo Alto Baylands SCL	1988-078	13	ph., Pyle & McCaskie (1992)
66. 22 Nov 1992		Inverness MRN	1993-036	18
67. 12 Dec 1993		Palo Alto Baylands SCL	1994-006	19
68. 12 Nov 1996		Santa Barbara SBA	1998-178	23	ph., SBMNH 6629, found alive on 12 Nov, perished in rehab on 13 Nov
69. 20 Oct 1998		Manhattan Beach LA	1999-097	24	ph., LACM 110747
70. 16 Dec 1998	AHY	Santee SD	1998-232	24	ph., SDNHM 50186, Unitt (2004)
71. 30 Oct 1999		Smith R. mouth DN	2000-052	25	ph., HSU 8523
72. 09 Jan 2001		Tomales Bay MRN	2001-012	28
73-74. 10 Jan–12 Feb 2002	2	Grizzly I. SOL	2002-042	28	ph., NAB 56:256
75-76. 27 May–24 Jun 2002	2	Cow Head Slough MOD	2002-126	28	audio
and 24 May–28 Jun 2003	1		2003-083	29	audio
77. 06 Jun–12 Jul 2003		vic. Mt. Shasta (City of) SIS	2003-092	29	audio, one of two reported
78. 25 Oct 2003		Harkins Slough SCZ	2003-146	29	ph., UCSC A-641, San Miguel & McGrath (2005)
Yellow Rail – Not accepted, identification not established
26 Dec 1914		Santa Barbara SBA	1986-322	14
07 Oct 1973		Pt. Pinos MTY	1979-015	6
11 Nov 1973		Coyote Hills Regional Park ALA	1986-196	11
04 Feb 1978		Santee Lakes SD	1978-074	5
10 Oct 1978		Samoa Peninsula HUM	1992-114	15
12 Jan 1984		Upper Newport Bay ORA	1984-022	9
14 Apr 1986		Pescadero Marsh SM	1986-282	11
12 Apr 1989		Upper Newport Bay ORA	1989-060	13
10 Feb 1991		Samoa Peninsula HUM	1991-057	17
06–07 Apr 1993		Ukiah MEN	1998-133	23
05 Oct 1995		Ft. Bragg MEN	1998-132	24
21 Apr 2002		Hwy. 29 NAP	2002-096	28
Yellow Rail – Not submitted
? 1884		Eureka HUM			Harris (2006), see table entry 5
13 Feb 1961		Tomales Bay MRN		14	AFN 15:354–355, McCaskie et al. (1979)
29 Dec 1962	2	Redding SHA			AFN 17:283
15–19 Apr 1978		Mystic Lake RIV		14	AB 32:1054, Garrett & Dunn (1981)
15 July 1980		Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite NP TUO	14	Gaines (1988)
17 Oct 1993		Bodega Head SON			Parmeter (2000)
27 Sep 1996		Eureka HUM			Harris (2006)
15–25 Jul 2002		vic. Mt. Shasta SIS			NAB 56:482
11 Dec 2002		Grizzly I. SOL			NAB 57:253
17 Dec 2002		Grizzly I. SOL			NAB 57:253
02 Jun–29 Jul 2003		vic. Mount Shasta (city of) SIS			NAB 57:541, see table entry 77
12 Sep 2003		Cordelia Slough SOL			NAB 58:137
23 Dec 2003		Tomales Bay MRN			NAB 58:277

Figures

Figure 104. Numbers of Yellow Rails recorded in California, 1880 to 2003. This species formerly occurred in larger numbers, although apparent declines since 1940 may also reflect different search tactics (e.g., no longer using dogs to flush rails from marshes). Its breeding in eastern California went unrecorded from 1939 to 2002, when a small population was discovered in the extreme northeastern corner of the state.

Figure 105. Distribution of 78 Yellow Rails accepted through 2003, when CBRC review of this species ceased. About three-fourths of the mapped occurrences (57 of 78) are from 1939 or earlier. Those seeking this species in California today should note especially the 2002 discovery of Yellow Rails summering in extreme northeastern Modoc County and near Mt. Shasta in south-central Siskiyou County.

Yellow Rail

YELLOW RAIL Coturnicops noveboracensis (Gmelin, 1789)

Accepted: 78 (87%)	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 12	CBRC review: records through 2003
Not submitted/reviewed: 14	Color image: none

This rail’s northern breeding limit extends from northeastern British Columbia (irregular) and the southern Northwest Territories eastward to eastern Quebec and New Brunswick. The southern limit stretches from northeastern Montana east to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and possibly to Maine (Gibbs et al. 1991). Isolated western breeding populations exist in south-central Oregon and, apparently, in adjacent northern California (see below). The species winters mainly in coastal marshes and in wet fields near the coast from the central Gulf coast of Texas east to North Carolina. The winter status in California is discussed below, and there is an old record at this season for Oregon. Migrants are rarely encountered across North America, but there are extralimital records from Alaska, Washington, Labrador, St. Pierre et Miquelon, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.

Historically, the Yellow Rail was known as a regular winter visitor to coastal California, and perhaps also to the San Joaquin Valley. There are also four nesting records from the Great Basin portion of the state (Mono County) between 1922 and 1939 (Sterling 2003). Numerous specimens, both extant and lost, support over fifty records prior to World War II (many were published by Grinnell and Miller 1944). As shown in Figure 104, only about one-quarter of the state’s records (21 of 78) are from the postwar era, suggesting true decline, but suppression of distributional information may obscure the current status in California to some degree. Since 1970, 14 Yellow Rails have been documented in coastal estuaries during fall and winter (2 October–17 February), and it appears that the species may still winter regularly in some of the larger ones, particularly in the central and northern parts of the state (Figure 105).

In 1982, a breeding population was found in the Klamath Basin of south-central Oregon, near the California border, and 34 nests were found there during focused surveys from 1995 to 1998 (Stern et al. 1993, Popper and Stern 2000). The 15 July 1985 record of a Yellow Rail near Mono Lake, Mono County, and especially the 2002 discovery of birds summering in extreme northeastern Modoc County and near Mt. Shasta in Siskiyou County (NAB 56:482), suggest that breeding Yellow Rails maintain at least a tenuous foothold in northern California. Additional focused field work in both the summer and winter ranges is warranted to learn the species’ true status in California and to start competently addressing its conservation here (Sterling in press).

In evaluating some Yellow Rail records, the CBRC has considered the potential for the similar Swinhoe’s Rail (C. exquisitus) to reach California. A rare species that breeds in southeastern Siberia and winters from Japan to Korea and southern China, Swinhoe’s Rail is not yet recorded in North America.