In the 1800s red foxes came to California and a rare rail nearly vanished

A red fox introduced to California more than a century ago might seem far removed from the fate of a small marsh bird. Yet the two became linked in the coastal wetlands of Southern California, where the light-footed Ridgway’s rail has struggled to survive. The bird spends much of its time concealed among cordgrass and pickleweed, moving through vegetation that provides cover and nesting sites. Red foxes, meanwhile, spread beyond the places where they were originally kept after being brought to California for hunting and fur farming in the late 1800s.At Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, their presence was followed by a sharp decline in the rail population. Within seven years, the refuge had just five breeding pairs. The decline added another layer of pressure to a bird already dependent on a shrinking network of coastal marshes. Listed as federally endangered in 1969, the light-footed Ridgway’s rail remains closely tied to these fragile wetlands, where changes in habitat and the arrival of non-native predators can have consequences for a population with little room for losses.Light-footed Ridgway’s rail has faced decline in California since 1969The light-footed Ridgway’s rail is ...