330 BULLETIN 135, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



under the nearest cover as quickly as a mouse. Mr. Cobb (1906)- 

 relates the following interesting experience with a black rail in Mil- 

 ton, Massachusetts: "An extract from my log of May 16, 1904, 

 reads" : 



As I was standing by the B-s spring to-day, I heard something among the 

 branches of a small pine near by. On looking up, I saw a small loird come tum- 

 bling down through the soft pine tips, now and then clinging to one for a second. 

 Finally he landed on the ground. Here he stopped for a minute on the wet pine 

 needles as if to recover his balance and then made for cover. While this was 

 going on I had stood watching the proceedings with interest, but as soon as the 

 bird started to run I saw at once, by his diminutive size and peculiar shape, that 

 he must be something unusual. I quickly gave chase, and, with the help of my 

 terrier, soon cornered the bird in some underbrush; but, after getting close enough 

 to touch him with my hand, he escaped to another hiding place. Knowing now 

 that he was the rare black rail, I redoubled my zeal, and, at last after an exciting 

 quarter of an hour, I caught the little fellow. The strange thing about the chase 

 was that he never attempted to fly more than a few yards. If chased into the 

 open, he would take wing and flutter into the nearest cover, but never once 

 did he try a prolonged flight. In running on the ground he was very skillful, 

 and, had it not been for the open character of the piney hillside on which he fell, 

 I never should have seen him an instant after he struck the ground. The only 

 explanation that I can give of the little rail's strange appearance is that, tired out 

 by a long migration and bewildered in the fog, he had lost his way and fallen to 

 earth exhausted. This theory complies well with weather conditions. There was 

 a northeast breeze driving in a fog from the ocean, and, whenever the fog lifted, 

 hurrying clouds could be seen passing across the sky. 



T. E. McMullen writes to me that he has seen them fly out of 

 the marsh and alight on horizontal limbs of baybcrr}^ bushes and 

 remain there until he was within 6 feet of them, just like sparrows.. 

 H. L. Stoddard (1916), who collected a black rail near Chicago, says: 



The specimen was first flushed in a small cat-tail growth, and flew rather 

 strongly at a good height for 5 or 6 rods before dropping back into the scant 

 vegetation, which here stood in a foot or so of water. On going to the spot the 

 bird flushed again, nearly underfoot, and was secured. The flight of this indi- 

 vidual was fully as strong as that of sora and Virginia rails seen a short time 

 previously. 



Mr. Wayne (1905) took special pains to identify the notes of both 

 sexes, which he explains as follows: 



As soon as she entered the standing oats she began to call, which notes resem- 

 bled the words " croo-croo-croo-o," and then again almost exactly like the com- 

 mencement of the song of the yellow billed cuckoo. This was answered at once 

 by the male but his song was very difi'erent and the notes may best be described by 

 the words, ^'kik, kik, kik, kik," or even "kuk, kuk, kuk, kuk." As the birds were 

 rare, and the field would be plowed as soon as the oats were harvested, I deter- 

 mined to make every effort to capture both parents, after listening to the song 

 of both birds for more than one hour. I walked into the standing oats, and 

 little did I dream of ever flushing one of the birds, but to my great surprise one 

 flushed almost immediately and with a squib charge of dust shot I killed it, 

 which proved by dissection to be the female. I then tried to flush the male 

 'knowing the one I had was the female by the coloration), so as to be positive of 



