THE PRINCIPAL BIRD GROUPS 75 



furnished with a frontal shield, usually of some 

 conspicuous hue, or with large caruncles and 

 knobs. In some cases the wing is furnished 

 with a spur. The tail is small, and sometimes 

 almost concealed by the coverts. Most of the 

 Rails are frequenters of swamps and marshes 

 and the banks of pools and streams, but some 

 of them evince a partiality for drier districts. 

 They are somewhat graceful birds in their 

 carriage and progress upon the land ; their 

 flight is laboured, and usually undertaken with 

 reluctance, nevertheless many of the species 

 are migratory. They swim and dive with great 

 skill, and in some cases are somewhat addicted 

 to climbing and perching in trees. The notes, 

 generally speaking, are loud and startling, and 

 of a very distinctive character. Their food 

 consists of both animal and vegetable sub- 

 stances. As a rule the Rails are not very 

 social or gregarious. The nests are generally 

 made on the ground amongst aquatic vegetation, 

 or are anchored amongst reeds and rushes some 

 distance from land. They are made of various 

 kinds of vegetation. Some few are said to breed 

 in burrows, others to make spherical structures. 

 The eggs are mostly numerous and spotted. The 

 young are hatched covered with down. 



