90 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Rallus elegans ramsdeni Riley, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, xxvi, 1913, 83. 

 (Guantanamo, Cuba; coll. U. S. Nat. Mus.).— Cooke, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 

 128, 1914, 17 (range). — Todd, Ann. Carnegie Mus., x, 1916, 200 (Siguanea, 

 Isle of Pines; crit.). — Barbour, Mem. Nutt. Orn. CI., vi, 1923, 52.— Dan- 

 FOBTH, Wils. Bull., xl, 1928, 179 (Laguna del Siteo, Cuba).— Bent, U. S. 

 Nat. Mus. Bull. 135, 1927, 264, in text ( Cuba ) .—Peters, Check-list Birds 

 of World, ii, 1934, 160. — Danfoeth, Journ. Agr. Univ. Puerto Rico, xix, 

 1935, 425 (Guane, Cuba; spec; food habits). — Oberholser, Proc. U. S. 

 Nat. Mus., Ixxxiv, 1937, 314, 315 in text. 



R\_allus] ellegansi ramsdeni Bond, Birds West Indies, 1936. 87 in text (Cuba 

 and Isle of Pines: descr.). 



RALLUS LIMICOLA LIMICOLA Vieillot 



Virginia Rail 



Adult (sexes alike). — Similar to the dark phase of Rallus elegans 

 elegans but generally darker, the sides of the head more distinctly 

 and more uniformly grayish plumbeous, the sides and abdomen cinna- 

 momeous like the breast but paler, instead of being barred like the 

 flanks, and the under wing coverts and axillars not barred but irreg- 

 ularly marked with white on the tips and margins of the feathers. 

 The birds are subject to considerable variation, but the variations are 

 difficult to group into definite color phases : Forehead, crown, occiput, 

 and upper nape dark fuscous, the feathers edged narrowly with 

 mummy brown to sepia; the hind neck, scapulars, interscapulars, 

 upper and lower back dark fuscous to fuscous-black medially, broadly 

 edged with Saccardo's umber to buffy Dresden brown; the dark 

 centers increasing in width posteriorly, the rump, upper tail coverts, 

 and rectrices with the dark centers extending over all but the narrow 

 lateral margins of the feathers ; upper wing coverts cinnamon-rufous 

 to russet, dusky at their extreme bases, which are completely hidden, 

 and on the inner portion of the inner web of the greater coverts; 

 remiges sepia to slightly grayish sepia, the outer web of the outer- 

 most primary very slightly paler ; a light stripe from the base of the 

 maxilla to the anteromedian portion of the eye pinkish buflf to light 

 pinkish cinnamon ; rest of lores, cheeks, circumocular area, and auric- 

 ulars deep neutral gray, paling posteriorly (on auriculars) to neutral 

 gray, occasionally washed slightly with hair brown ; malar area, lower 

 cheeks, and lower sides of neck, entire throat, breast, and sides of 

 upper abdomen pinkish cinnamon to orange-cinnamon, darkest and 

 richest on the lower throat, the breast, and the sides of the upper 

 abdomen; the upper part of the sides of the neck pale Saccardo's 

 umber to Dresden brown, the feathers with obcure dusky median 

 stripes; chin varying from pure white to light pinkish cinnamon; 

 median and lower portions of abdomen light ochraceous-salmon to 

 light ochraceous-buff ; the feathers of the upper median part of the 



