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Elusive eastern black rail threatened by rising sea levels

The bird nicknamed the “feathered mouse” is threatened by sea level rise and the increasing frequency and intensity of storms as well as habitat destruction.
Credit: AP
In this June 2017 photo taken in the ACE Basin region of South Carolina and provided by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, a male black rail offers an insect to a female as part of their courtship behaviors. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the Eastern black rail a threatened species on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, but stopped short of the stronger protections some environmentalists were seeking for the elusive bird now imperiled by habitat destruction, sea level rise, and the increasing frequency and intensity of storms with climate change. (Christy Hand/South Carolina Department of Natural Resources via AP)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declared the Eastern black rail a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. 

According to the agency, the bird nicknamed the “feathered mouse” is threatened by sea level rise and the increasing frequency and intensity of storms as well as habitat destruction. 

Populations have declined by more than 75% over the last 10 to 20 years. 

The “threatened” designation falls short of what some environmentalists were seeking. 

The Center for Biological Diversity, which first proposed protections for the bird 10 years ago, had hoped it would be listed as “endangered,” which would bring more protection for the remaining population.

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