282 BULLETIN 135^ UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Enemies. — The gentle rail has many enemies which Audubon (1840) 

 refers to, as follows: 



Their courage is now and then brought to the test by the sudden approach of 

 some of their winged enemies, such as a hawk or an owl, especially the marsh 

 hawk, which is often attacked by them while sailing low over the grass in which 

 they are commonly concealed. On such occasions, the rail rises a few yards in 

 the air, strikes at the marauder with bill and claws, screaming aloud all the while, 

 and dives again among the grass, to the astonishment of the bird of prey, which 

 usually moves off at full speed. They are not so fortunate in their encounters 

 with such hawks as pounce from on high on their prey, such as the red-tailed 

 and red-shouldered hawks, against which they have no chance of defending them- 

 selves. Minks, racoons, and wild cats destroy a great number of them during 

 the night, and many are devoured by turtles and ravenous fishes; but their worst 

 enemy is man. My friend Bachman has shot so many as 60 in the course of 

 four hours, and others have killed double that number in double the time. 



Wilson (1832) adds: 



These birds are also subject to another calamity of a more extensive kind: 

 After the greater part of the eggs are laid, there sometimes happen violent north- 

 east tempests that drive a great sea into the bay, covering the whole marshes; 

 so that at such times the rail may be seen in hundreds, floating over the marsh 

 in great distress; many escape to the mainland; and vast numbers perish. On 

 an occasion of this kind I have seen, at one view, thousands in a single meadow, 

 walking about exposed and bewildered, while the dead bodies of the females, who 

 had perished on or near their nests, were strewed along the shore. This last 

 circumstance proves how strong the ties of maternal affection are in these birds; 

 for of the great numbers which I picked up and opened, not one male was to be 

 found among them; all were females. Such as had not yet begun to sit probably 

 escaped. These disasters do not prevent the survivors from recommencing the 

 work of laying and building anew; and instances have occurred where their eggs 

 have been twice destroyed by the sea; and yet in two weeks the eggs and nests 

 seemed as nunxerous as ever. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — Salt marshes of the Atlantic coast from southeastern 

 Maine to northeastern North Carolina. 



Breeding range. — The clapper rail breeds north to Connecticut 

 (Saybrook) and south to North Carolina (Pea and Brodie Islands). 

 The oast and west limits of its range are, of course, determined by 

 the width of the salt-marsh belt. 



Winter range. — North, casually, to New York (Far Rockaway, 

 L. I.) and south to Georgia (Savannah and St. Marys). The species 

 has also occurred in winter in Connecticut (Stamford, February 9, 

 1900). 



Casual records. — Specimens have been taken or observed in Mass- 

 achusetts (East Orleans, Springfield, Ipswich, Kingston, Boston, and 

 Plymouth) ; New Hampshire (Portsmouth) ; and Maine (Popham 

 Beach and Sabattus Pond). 



