King Rail (Rallus elegans) [XC360776]
by Daniel Lane from Texas (near La Feria), Cameron County, Texas, United States (call)
King Rail (Rallus elegans) [XC705485]
by Paul Driver from Ochopee, Collier County, Florida, United States (call)
Subspecies
Rallus longirostris (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) included Rallus tenuirostris, but Stotz et al. (1996) provisionally split Rallus tenuirostris from King Rail (Rallus elegans). However, this split is not recognised, following AOU (2000) who retain the tenuirostris group within King Rail (Rallus elegans).
Often considered conspecific with Mangrove Rail (Rallus longirostris), provisionally treated as forming superspecies. Subspecies tenuirostris of central Mexico sometimes considered specifically distinct, or transferred to Mangrove Rail (Rallus longirostris). Californian subspecies of Mangrove Rail (Rallus longirostris) (levipes, obsoletus, yumanensis) sometimes placed in present species. Hybridization with Mangrove Rail (Rallus longirostris) occurs occasionally in areas of sympatry.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
elegans Audubon, 1834 - Eastern Canada and north-eastern USA. Winters south to eastern Mexico.
tenuirostris Ridgway, 1874 - Central Mexico. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Mexican Rail (Rallus tenuirostris).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet