RAILS, GALLINULES, AND COOTS 



203 



the tops of the rushes, dropping abruptly m a few rods amidst the grass, as if exhausted by 

 their unwonted exertion. They are perfectly at home on the ground, and dart among the 

 dense weeds with marked freedom, the long toes keeping them from sinking in the mud or 

 submerged vegetation, their thin bodies gliding easily between the reeds." (Eaton.) 



All of the Rails, Gallinules, and Coots nest on the ground, and as a rule lay large sets 

 of eggs. The young are covered with down when hatched, and are able to run about very 

 soon after leaving the shell. 



KING 

 Rallus elega 



A. O. U. .\ umber -'08 



Other Names. — Fresh-water Marsh Hen; Great 

 Red-breasted Rail ; Aliid Hen. 



General Description. — Length, ly inches. Upper 

 parts, tawny-ohvc streaked with darker; lower parts, 

 chestnut. F"orehead entirely feathered down to base of 

 bill ; bill long and slender. 



Color. — .Adults: Crown, sides of head, hack of 

 neck, and rest of ji/'/'iT parts. tincny-oIiTi- streaked 

 from center of neck to tail with blackish-brown ; an in- 

 distinct whitish line from bill over and behinrl eye; 

 chin and upper throat, white; iicch and hrrasl. rich 

 ihcstiiut: rest of under parts, white traversed l)y broad 

 bars of olive-brown ; wing-coverts, olive-brown ; second- 

 aries, dusky-brown edged with lighter ; primaries, plain 



RAIL 



ns Audubon 



.^ce Color I'late 25 



dusky-brown ; a narrow white semi-circle below eye ; 

 bill, yellowish, dusky on riclge and tip ; legs. i)ale dusky- 

 greenish ; iris, reddish-brown. Downy Young: Glossy 

 black. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : On the ground in marsh 

 grass; built of dead reeds and grass, well concealed 

 from above by interlacing of surrounding grass. Eggs: 

 6 to 12. dull white to pale bufT. thinly spotted with 

 reddish-brown and lilac. 



Distribution. — Eastern North .\merica ; breeds from 

 Nebraska, southern Minnesota, Ontario, New York, and 

 Connecticut south to Texas, Florida, and Cuba ; winters 

 mainly in the southern part of its breeding range ; cas- 

 ual north to .South Dakota and Maine. 



This large and handsome Rail, the King Rail, 

 closely resembles the Virginia Rail except in size. 

 Its retiring habits probably account for our lack 

 of knowledge regarding it. Little seems to be 

 known of it except that it appears to prefer fresh 

 marshes to salt marshes. I have never seen it 

 alive. 



Dr. Bachman, in .South Carolina, seems to 

 have had a better opportunity of observing its 

 habits than an\- one else who has written about it. 

 He states that he found twenty pairs breeding 

 within a space having a diameter of thirty yards, 

 and that the nests were placed on the ground, 

 being raised up six or eight inches by means of 

 withered weeds and grasses ; but ^\'ayne, who 

 has also found numerous nests, finds them in 

 rushes or buttonwood bushes, from eight to eigli- 

 teen inches over water. He noted that the 

 female laid an egg each day after ii a. m. and 

 f)n laying the twelfth began at once to incubate. 

 This Rail frequents the swampy borders of ri\'ers 

 and fresh-water ponds overgrown with vegeta- 

 tion. Tlie stomach of one specimen was filled 

 with seeds of Aniiido tccta : that of another 

 contained a quantity of oats. 



Edw.xkd Howe Forbush, in Gome Birds, 

 IVild-Foii'l and Shore Birds. 









Photo by H. T. Middleton 



KING RAIL 





