154 



MICHIGAN BIRD" LIFE. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult: Head and neck above olive brown; the back, including upper surface of wings 

 and tail, a lighter shade of the same color, heavily streaked with umber brown and black; 

 sides of head and neck reddish brown or cinnamon, this color continuing over the whole 

 of the breast, which is unspotted; a white streak from the base of the bill above the eye, 

 and a white spot below the eye; chin and upjjer throat pure white; sides and flanks black 

 or brownish black conspicuously barred with pure white; belly nearly white; primaries 

 dark brown, their coverts bright rufous; edge of wing white. Sexes alike. Immature: 

 Similar. Downy young, uniform glossy black. Length 17 to 19 inches; wing 5.90 to 

 6.80; culmen 2.12 to 2..'J0. 



80. Virginia RaiL Rallus virginianus Jjinn. (212) 



Synonyms: Little Red-breasted Rail. — Rallus virginianus of autliors generally. — Rallus 

 limicola, Vieill., 1823. 



Figure 1^2. 



Very similar to the King Rail in everything but size, the present species 

 being very much smaller. 



Distribution: North America, from the British Provinces south to 

 Guatemala and Cuba. 



Fig. 42. Virgin 



)riginal.) 



Unhke the King Rail this species is found over the entire state and 

 probably nests wherever found. It is, however, much more abundant 

 in the southern half of the state than farther north, and probably in most 

 parts of the Upper Peninsula it should be considered rather uncommon. 

 S. E. White calls it rare on iNIaclcinac Island; Major Boies saw only a few 

 on Neebish Island, St. Mary's River, in the summer of 1893; and one was 



