 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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1.36 (0.277 - 2.56)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Virginia Rail detections were scattered across the province in 159 squares with most records occuring in the Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, and Boreal Transition ecoregions. Breeding was confirmed in five squares. A detection near the Cigar Lake Mine in 2018 is likely the most northerly record for the province. The Virginia Rail's nocturnal habits, secretive nature, and relatively quiet vocalisations no doubt played a part in the low probability of observation across most of the province.
Note: During all years of the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas drought conditions persisted and the Atlas range maps for all waterfowl, waterbirds, and wetland-associated species should be viewed as characteristic of distribution and abundance during dry conditions. Read the full drought statement here.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
Stand by a large deep-water marsh during the summer after dark and this bird gives itself away by its call, a series of grunts or oinks. Slender, with flexible vertebrae that allow easy mobility through dense vegetation, Virginia Rails are specially designed for life among the reeds. (Conway 1995). Virginia Rails breed from southern British Columbia and southwestern Newfoundland south locally through the southern US and Mexico to Guatemala; they winter coastally from southwest British Columbia and New England, and in the interior from southern Nevada southward. They are also resident in western South America (AOU 1998).
Virginia Rails choose stands of emergent vegetation, cattails, and bulrushes within shallow edges of relatively large marshes (Conway 1995).
A fairly common but local denizen of the more extensive deep-water marshes of the parkland and southern boreal regions, north to Kazan, Jan, and Besnard Lakes (Smith 1996). The numerical status of the species is poorly known, but it can occur in relatively large numbers as evidenced by the estimate by Harris et al. (1973) of 23 territories on one-half of 14 km Ranch Lake. It is almost unknown as a migrant south of its breeding range (Smith 1996).
Original text by Jared B. Clarke. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Virginia Rail in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Virginia Rail in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=VIRA&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]
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