Virginia Rail

Virginia rails are small and secretive, marked by rusty-brown upperparts, gray cheeks, and a long, slightly downcurved reddish bill. They breed in freshwater and brackish marshes across much of North America, often sharing the marsh with the smaller sora, though the two split the menu — Virginia rails lean toward insects, soras toward seeds. Listen for a metallic "kidik-kidik" call, along with the so-called "kicker" call, a sharp, descending series that was once mistakenly credited to an entirely different rail species.