CALIFOBNIA CLAPPER SAIL 287 



H. R. Taylor (1894, p. 153) states that one he flushed from her nest 

 fluttered and limped along, as if to lead him away. 



The following description of the downy young is given by Emerson 

 (1885, p. 142): 



One nest of seven glossy jet black chicks was found, seemingly just out of 

 the shell, one not quite dry. All but this one would hold their long necks 

 out, moving them from side to side, and calling in a low plaintive tone pe-ee-ep, 

 pe-ee-ep, very much like a weak young chicken. . . . On skinning one I 

 noticed a small claw sticking out from the second joint of each wing, not more 

 than a sixteenth part of an inch long, claw part turning down, of a light horn 

 color and comparing only to a little kitten's claw; it was found on all the 

 chicks. 



Writing in 1880, W. E. Bryant (p. 124) said of the California 

 Clapper Rail: 



I have found these birds abundant, at all seasons of the year, on the salt 

 marshes of Oakland, San Mateo, and other marshes that are partially covered 

 by the highest tides. At such times they may be shot by the dozen, as they 

 sit upon floating drift-wood, the dead body of an animal, a fence, or, in one 

 instance, a railroad bridge, from which they would not fly until nearly run 

 into by an approaching train. Their tameness at all times, especially during 

 the high tides, is remarkable. If obliged to fly, they start from either land 

 or water as readily as a Duck. They swim well; but when wounded and 

 closely pursued, the}' dive, and hold on to the marsh grass beneath the water 

 to keep from rising. 



The birds are close sitters, and not easily flushed; but when once started, 

 they seem to fly as long as they have the power, sometimes alighting in the 

 middle of a slough, as though unable to reach the opposite bank. The only 

 note that I have known them to utter is a harsh cackle, frequently heard at 

 night. 



Like all rails the Clapper Rail is, when need be, very skillful at 

 keeping out of sight. Sometimes individuals appear shy, flushing at a 

 distance, or running toward the denser vegetation at great speed, with 

 lowered head and elusive mien ; at other times they walk out into the 

 open in bottoms of sloughs at close range and view the intruder seem- 

 ingly with perfect equanimity. They have a long running stride, and 

 the body is held close to the ground. The narrowly compressed body 

 enables them to slip easily between the rigid upright stems of a sort 

 of rush which grows in thick beds along the larger salt sloughs. If 

 not thoroughly alarmed rails will sometimes stop or hesitate on open 

 ground, when the peculiar twitching movement of the tail may be 

 clearly seen. This member is held vertically and the twitching of it 

 is rendered conspicuous because of the white color flashed from the 

 under tail coverts. When walking, the head and tail twitch forward 

 in unison with each stride. When thoroughly alarmed this Rail will 

 take to water and swim considerable distances, as, in one observed 

 instance, across a thirty-foot slough. 



