210 WADING BIRDS. 



their appearance, in the marshes of Georgia, by the close of 

 February ; and, on the 2d of May, Wilson observed them 

 in the low watery meadows below Philadelphia. In the re- 

 mote fur countries of the north, up to the 62d parallel, they 

 are common through the summer, and were observed by 

 Dr. Richardson to be particularly abundant on the banks of 

 the small lakes, that skirt the Saskatchewan plains. In the 

 vast reedy marshes, swamps and lagoons, of these desolate 

 regions, the greater part of the species are no doubt reared, 

 as but few of them are ever known to breed in the warmer 

 parts of the continent, and the history of their manners, at 

 the period of incubation, is, therefore, still a blank. The 

 observations of persons not conversant with the nice dis- 

 tinctions necessary in natural history, ought to be received 

 with caution, as they might easily confound the mere young 

 of the present and the preceding species, as one and the 

 same. The alleged nest, eggs, and young birds covered 

 with a black down, mentioned by Wilson, agree perfectly 

 with the Virginian Rail ; but the length of the bill, and 

 any other discriminating particulars are wholly omitted. 

 We may conclude, therefore, up to the present time, that 

 the actual young and nest of the Soree are yet unknown, 

 and that all which has been said on this subject is but con- 

 jecture, or a misapplication of facts belonging to the prece- 

 ding species. 



Like the other migrating waders, the Rails, accompanied 

 by their swarming broods, bred in the north and west, be- 

 gin to show themselves on the reedy borders of the Dela- 

 ware, and other large waters of the Middle States, whose 

 still and sluggish streams, spreading out over muddy flats, 

 give birth to an abundant crop of the seeds of the Wild 

 Rice,* now the favorite food of the Rails and the Rice 



* Zizanla aquati-a, and Z. clavuloscy the latter species most prevalent in the 

 western waters. 



