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clapper rail
noun
: a grayish-brown long-billed American rail (Rallus longirostris) that inhabits coastal marshes
Examples of clapper rail in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The bird, also called a clapper rail, is noted for its distinctive clacking or grunting-like call.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2024
Acadian flycatchers at the Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary and the Holly Hill Farm in Cohasset, a clapper rail at Moswetuset Hummock, 11 piping plovers at Wollaston Beach, and a black vulture in Medway.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2023
An endangered species of bird, the light-footed clapper rail, sometimes nests in the cattails and reeds of Buena Vista, which because of the weir is the only freshwater lagoon in San Diego County.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 July 2021
Bristol County: The area hosted a Eurasian wigeon in Acushnet, a great egret at Allens Pond in South Dartmouth, a clapper rail in Fairhaven, a Lincoln’s sparrow at Noquochoke Wildlife Area in Dartmouth, and another Lincoln’s sparrow at Horseneck Beach.
—BostonGlobe.com, 20 Nov. 2021
Bring binoculars for the best chance to see varieties like the endangered Southwestern willow flycatcher, which nests in the refuge, and the Yuma clapper rail, which spends most of its time hidden in the tall grasses.
—Shanti Lerner, The Arizona Republic, 1 Mar. 2022
Wetlands are widely valued as natural pollution filters and as habitat for endangered species such as the Yuma clapper rail, whooping crane and least tern.
—Elizabeth Svoboda, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2015
Because of the presence of the clapper rail, the cattails may have to be removed in stages, Hunt said.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 July 2021
For saltmarsh sparrows and clapper rails, almost all adults had to be killed for there to be a change in the long-term prospects of the population.
—James Gorman, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2019
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Word History
Etymology
from its rattle-like call
First Known Use
1813, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near clapper rail
Cite this Entry
“Clapper rail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clapper%20rail. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.
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