North American fauna . in much of TidewaterVirginia and usually occurs in greatest numbers in marshes wherebig cordgrass is dominant. Big cordgrass is one of the best cover plantsfor King Rails in Tidewater because of its height and occurrence infairly dense stands, and because it retains its life form throughoutmost of the year (fig. 15). In the early 1960s, I found King Railscommon in the big cordgrass marshes at Norfolk, West Point, andTappahannock. Other marsh types, especially Olneys three-square, wild rice(Zizcmia aquatica), and cattail, are important for the King Rail,but there is less
North American fauna . in much of TidewaterVirginia and usually occurs in greatest numbers in marshes wherebig cordgrass is dominant. Big cordgrass is one of the best cover plantsfor King Rails in Tidewater because of its height and occurrence infairly dense stands, and because it retains its life form throughoutmost of the year (fig. 15). In the early 1960s, I found King Railscommon in the big cordgrass marshes at Norfolk, West Point, andTappahannock. Other marsh types, especially Olneys three-square, wild rice(Zizcmia aquatica), and cattail, are important for the King Rail,but there is less acreage of these types, and wild rice does not providecover in the winter. During the winters of 1958 and 1961,1 encounteredseveral muskrat trappers who were inadvertently catching King Railsin the extensive Rappahannock River brackish marsh flats across theriver from Tappahannock. These flats are dominated by Olneysthree-square (fig. 16). Several King Rails were removed from muskrat NATURAL HISTORY OF THE KING RAIL 33. Figure 15.—Big cordgrass (Spartina cynosuroides) (tall plant) and arrow-arum (Peltandra virginica) (broad-leaved plant next to water) along tidalcreek, Nanticoke River marsh, Wicomico County, Md., August 1967. Bigcordgrass usually grows along the margins of tidal guts in brackish baymarshes, but may form extensive, nearly pure stands in brackish tidal-rivermashes. It is one of the most important cover types for King Rails in theChesapeake Bay region. (Photograph by Luther Goldman.) 34 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 67
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