The Black Rail is usually found statewide in wet meadows or meadows near marshes, such as Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Management Area and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and probably other wetlands in Kansas. It consumes insects and some seeds of water plants.
This bird is shy and may be more common than data indicate. Apparently, this bird does not require large areas of marshland or wet meadows because several Kansas records are from areas with only a few suitable acres. While it may use cattails and similar habitats, shallow wetlands with short dense vegetation is preferred.