268 BULLETIN 135, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



afford the proper kinds of food and shelter necessary for its existence. It is 

 found in small numbers on the marshes of Monterey Bay near Eikhorn, Mon- 

 terey County, and individuals have been recorded from Tomales Bay and Hum- 

 boldt Bay. The California clapper rail makes its permanent home on the salt 

 marshes where the vegetation consists chiefly of pickleweed {Salicornia ambigua) 

 and an evergreen shrub {Grindelia cuneifolia) . Here it may easily be found at 

 any time of the year skulking along the banks of the small muddy sloughs which 

 penetrate the marsh in every direction. 



Nesting. — ^The same authors refer to the nesting habits of the 

 California clapper rail, as follows: 



A high piece of marsh ground, usually on the bank of a slough, is selected for 

 a nesting site. The nest may be concealed in salt grass or pickleweed, or under 

 a small bush. It is a platform built up 3 to 6 inches above the ground, and 

 measures about 10 inches across with a cavity in the center 1}/^ inches deep. 

 Orasses or dead and living stems of pickleweed are used for building material. 

 A well-marked trail leading off through the adjacent vegetation is usually discerni- 

 ble. A nest examined by the authors on May 7, 1914, was composed of closely 

 matted Salicornia stems, some of the stems being bent over from the growing 

 p'ants surrounding it. The structure was well saucered, the cavity containing 

 the eggs being 5)^ inches across and IJ^ inches deep. The rim was 2}/^ inches 

 above the groimd which was still wet from a recent high tide. The nearest 

 s'ough was 20 feet away. Like some other rails this one sometimes builds nests 

 which it never uses. Three or four new nests, often uncompleted, apparently 

 possessing all the advantages of the one used, are occasionally to be found in the 

 near vicinity of an occupied nest. The female is a very close sitter and will 

 sometimes remain on the nest until the intruder is within 2 feet of her. She 

 will then jump from the nest and either fly away, or glide swiftly through the 

 grass or along the edge of a slough. 



Dr. Barton W. Evormann has sent me his notes on his experiences 

 with the nesting habits of this species on Bay Farm Island, Alameda 

 County. His records include observations on some 40 nests found 

 during the month of April, which seems to be the height of the nest- 

 ing season; ho found a total of 13 nests with eggs on one day, April 

 9, 191G. In summarizing his notes, he says: 



The dates given were probably those of the height of the nesting season, 

 without exception the nests were under, or more or less protected by, clumps of 

 Salicornia or Grindelia, or both. The birds would usually slink away from the 

 nest when one came upon them cautiously. If one came upon the nest hurriedly 

 they would leave with a rush, sometimes cackling. Bay Farm Island is, or soon 

 will be, a thing of the past. It is being cut up into truck farms, thus destroying 

 the best breeding grounds of this species in the State. 



Eggs. — The California clapper rail lays from 5 to 14 eggs, but the 

 usual set consists of from 8 to 10. The shape is ovate and the shell 

 is smooth and glossy. The eggs of this and the next species are the 

 lightest colored of any of the eggs in the clapper rail group, lighter 

 even than those of the king rail. The ground color is pale "cartridge 

 buff" or "ivory yellow." They are sparingly and irregularly marked 

 with a few small ])lotches and spots, and a larger number of minute 



