WATER BIRDS. 153 



to the Middle States, northern lUinois, Wisconsin and Kansas, casually 

 to Massachusetts, Maine and Ontario. 



In Michigan this species is confined apparently to the southern half of 

 the Lower Peninsula, although it may occur as a straggler somewhat farther 

 north. We have speci- 

 mens taken near Sagi- 

 naw Bay, and it has 

 been found breeding at 

 Grand Rapids. It is a 

 common nester at St. 

 Clair Flats, and is fairly 

 abundant in the neigh- 

 borhood of the Agricul- _. _ ^ ,^^. ^ ., ,^ . . ,^ 



, 1 ri II T 1, Fig. 41. Foot of King Rail. (Original) 



tural College, Ingham 



county, although far less common than either the Virginia Rail or the Sora. 

 Like all the rails it is shy, secretive, and rarely seen unless specially looked 

 for. Most of the specimens taken are killed in the fall while hunting quail or 

 woodcock with a dog, and at such times the rails are often found on dry 

 ground adjacent to marshes. It seems to migrate entirely by night and 

 ordinarily is rather quiet during the day, probably Hke most of the rails 

 feeding principally morning and evening, but more or less all through the 

 night. 



i?he nest is placed usually in long marsh-grass, but little elevated above 

 the ground, and is made of grasses and weeds like most rail nests. The 

 eggs vary in number from 6 to 16 and are commonly about 10. They are 

 buffy or cream white rather heavily spotted and specked with red brown, 

 and average 1.63 by 1.22 inches. They are most often found in southern 

 Michigan from the middle of May to the middle of June. According to 

 B. H. Swales "Some breed at Grassy Island, Detroit River, just below 

 Detroit, but they are much more abundant at St. Clair Flats. A nest 

 found July 9, 1896, contained 9 eggs of the King Rail, 8 eggs of the Virginia 

 Rail, and one of the Sora. The bird seen to leave the nest was a King Rail " 

 (Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 32). 



Undoubtedly the bird is much more common than it seems, yet Lower 

 Michigan forms the northern limit of its breeding range and it certainly 

 is one of the less common rails. Most of our correspondents call it rare, 

 but along the eastern side of the state, from Monroe county to Saginaw Bay, 

 it must be considered far from rare. 



Its food is much like that of the Virginia Rail and consists of a mixture 

 of animal and vegetable substances. According to Kumlien & Hollister 

 " It occurs in much higher and dryer situations than any of the other rails, 

 and often frequents stubble fields when not too far away froni the marsh. 

 We have found the esophagus hterally crammed with oats, and in the latter 

 part of summer and early fall the birds subsist largely on grasshoppers" 

 (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 38). Prof. Aughey examined seven stomachs taken 

 in Nebraska in August and October, 1874, and May 1875, and found locusts 

 in every stomach, the number varying from 17 to 48. Each stomach 

 contained also other insects and seeds (1st Rep. U. S. Entom. Com.. App. 

 2, p. 56). 



Owing to its nocturnal movements the dates of arrival and departure 

 are somewhat uncertain, but it probably reaches Michigan early in May 

 and leaves for the south during October, although individuals may linger 

 until early November (Detroit, Nov. 5, 1905, Swales). 



