Virginia Rail 93 



leap, droop their wings, and skip and work themselves 

 into a great state at this time. 



Warren (04) found a nest on an island in a small 

 lake in north-western Gunnison co., at an elevation of 

 8,000 feet, on June 5th, 1903 ; the nest was placed on 

 a tussock of grass, and was merely a flat platform about 

 two feet across, chiefly composed of swamp-grass ; on 

 this platform lay two large eggs. These are light greenish- 

 brown in colour, blotched all over with reddish-brown, 

 rather more thickly towards the larger end of the egg, 

 though in shape they are almost elliptical. They average 

 3-98 X 2-44. 



Family RALLIDiE. 



The Rails and Coots, which constitute this family, 

 are marsh or water birds of retiring habits, running 

 through and skulking in grass and reeds. The face 

 is always feathered, the tail is generally very short, and 

 contains ten to fourteen rectrices ; the legs are rather 

 short and the lower portion of the tibia is always bare 

 of feathers ; all the toes are long and slender, and the 

 hind toe is jointed at a higher level than the others. 



Genus RALLUS. 



Bill long and slender, the culmen longer than the middle toe and 

 claw ; no frontal shield ; nostrils in a long groove near the base of the 

 bill ; tail short, less than half the length of the wing ; tarsus shorter 

 than the middle toe and claw, 



A cosmopoHtan genus, containing the Water Rails ; some eight 

 species and subspecies are recognized in North America. 



Virginia Rail. Rallus virginianus. 



A.O.U. Checkhst no 212— Colorado Records— Aiken 72, p. 210; 

 Henshaw 75, p. 468 ; Beckham 85, p. 144 ; 87, p. 124 ; Morrison 89, 

 p. 166 ; Cooke 97, pp. 18, 63, 158, 198 ; Henderson 03, p. 234 ; 09, p. 227. 



Description. — Above dusky brown, the feathers of the back edged 

 with olive-brown ; sides of the face ashy-grey, darker round the eye ; 



