This is Bird Note.

Today we're standing on a boardwalk overlooking a marsh.

These clicks and oinks tell us a Virginia rail is close by. But rails are rarely seen.

The Virginia rail is a secretive bird, a relative of coots and cranes. It's a bird you'll more

often hear than spy. It's named for its narrow body, as skinny as a rail, an adaptation to its favorite marshy habitats.

It walks here, hidden, squeezing its slender body through the dense reeds and grasses.

We're going to have to watch carefully. Check out that opening in the marsh grass over there.

We might see the rail pass through it to the next patch of dense reeds. The sounds seem to be coming this way.

There it is, out in the open, however briefly. Amazing. It looks like a tiny heron. It's not much bigger than a robin. This rail is bright, orangey brown overall, with gray cheeks and a long red bill. We're lucky to have seen a Virginia rail. It may be a long time before we see another, but will not soon forget that distinctive voice.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.