Both sexes with grayish brown to cinnamon brown plumage, darker dorsally than ventrally. Flanks are barred white, dusky, and black. A solitary ground nester, this species nests in salt, brackish, and freshwater marshes and mangrove swamps. The breeding range of the clapper rail on the east coast extends from New Hampshire south to the Florida Keys and Carribean Islands, and along the Gulf Coast to Texas. The west coast population extends from San Francisco Bay to Mexico.
Southern populations are year-round residents.
Northern populations winter in the southern part of the breeding range. Ease of Census Difficult. The species is solitary and nests in dense vegetation. Feeding Habits Generalist and opportunistic, but prefers crustaceans if available. The clapper rail forages mainly by shallow probing of sediment or surface gleaning.