NORTH AMERICAN MARSH BIRDS 285 



occasionally a few seeds." He quotes some interesting notes made 

 by Mr. Pope, as follows: 



At one point I squatted on my heels and remained stationary for a few 

 moments and was rewarded by seeing a rail walk out of the grass into the mud 

 and begin feeding, which it did by thrusting its bill into the soft mud and feeling 

 around and stirring its food to the top, now and then securing a shrimp or a 

 small minnow. I was advised by an old fisherman who lives on the bay shore 

 about 3 miles from Flake, that he had often seen these birds feeding on young 

 diamond-backed terrapin, which were once quite plentiful in this part of the bay 

 and which deposited their eggs in the shell banks along the shore, the eggs hatch- 

 ing and the young taking to the adjacent marsh and bayous, probably to escape 

 their numerous enemies in the bay. There they fell before the rails. 



On warm days the "fiddler" or fighting crabs would crawl out of their holes 

 around the old schooner and were eagerly devoured by the rails. After catching 

 one of the crabs they would usually remove the large claw before swallowing the 

 victim. This was often accomplished with the assistance of a neighbor who 

 would hold the crab in his beak while the other wrenched off the objectionable 

 limb; but this method v/as not always satisfactory to the bird that removed the 

 claw, as the one that held the crab usually proceeded to bolt it while the other 

 was left to hold the claw, or rather to drop it. On one occasion when the crabs 

 were not plentiful, a rail found and tackled an unusually large "fiddler," which 

 it mauled around in the mud for some time without apparent effect. Sud- 

 denly, as if getting an idea, it left the crab and disappeared on the other side of 

 the schooner, to return a moment later with a companion, the two soon disarm- 

 ing Mr. Crab. Now, I presume the same rail came back; they are so much alike 

 it is impossible to tell one from the other under such conditions, but from 

 the way the birds went straight to the spot where the crab was left, I did not 

 doubt the bird in the lead being the one that found the crab. Which one got 

 the crab I can not say, as after scuffling over him, they disappeared from my 

 sight in the tall grass. 



Behavior. — I once saw a good demonstration of the swimming abil- 

 ity of this rail, while collecting off the coast of Louisiana; I flushed 

 a rail from a small grassy island and was surprised to see the bird fly 

 off and settle on the water about 100 yards offshore, where it swam 

 about as unconcernedly as a duck. 



Mr. Simmons (1914) makes the following observ^ations on behavior: 



Doubtless the reader will be supriscd that the rail has ever been known to 

 perch; indeed, I was more than surprised. On one occasion, in August, 1912, I 

 was surprised to see a clapper rail flap up out of the marsh and light on a flat- 

 topped post of the barbed wire fence, where it remained for some few minutes, 

 standing there on the small flat surface as imconcerned as if on its marshy home 

 ground. 



The voice of the clapper rail is peculiar indeed, its loud, harsh cackling resem- 

 bling that of a Guinea fowl or the sound produced by some automatic toys. 

 This harsh cackling might be likened to the sound of: " ckack-chack-chack-chack- 

 chack-chack-chack-chack," rapidly repeated. This call is usually heard about the 

 break of day and again about dusk; sometimes, however, it is heard during the 

 daytime or at night, though rarely. On Bolivar Peninsula Mr. Pope says that he 

 could always tell when a " norther" was due by the clatter of the rails, as they 

 invariably heralded its approach several hours before its arrival. 

 92642— 20t 20 



