BIRDS OF THE SALT MARSHES 



different race from the winter one, which 

 comes from the north and is a larger bird, 

 with a thickly spotted throat, yelloAV bill and 

 bright red legs. 



Rails are familiar birds in certain salt 

 marsh regions. Not so at Ipswich, for only 

 dmdng the migrations are they found in these 

 marshes, and then only at rare intervals, for 

 they seem to prefer fresh-Avater swamps. I 

 have several times found sora rails in the fall 

 there; once I heard what I believed to be a 

 black rail; and once I was treated to a very 

 near view of the rare clapper rail, as he ran 

 crouching along a mud flat and disappeared 

 into the thatch. I quickly landed from my 

 canoe and ran into the grass, when he arose 

 from under my very feet with feeble wings 

 and dangling legs, and flew off a few 3^ards 

 into the marsh. His large size, long curved 

 bill and gray color made his identification 

 certain. The king rail is uncommon but less 

 rare here than the clapper rail, which it re- 

 sembles closely except that it is of a rich 

 brown color. 



Although many shore birds are nearly as 

 much at home on the marsh as on the beach, 

 most of those that are f Qund on the marsh are 



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