RAILS. 215 



the year till January and February, so that there is nothing 

 extraordinary in the Weymouth specimen still exhibiting 

 such marks in January, while the fact that it is a young bird 

 renders it more probable that it had lost its way. 



Range outside the British Islands. — The present species inhabits 

 North America from Canada southwards, and extends to 

 Brazil and Argentina, as well as to the West Indian 

 Islands. 



Habits. — Similar to those of other species of Grebe. 



Nest. — A nest, found by Mr. N. B. Moore, in Florida, was 

 "composed of broken stems of dog-fennel, matted together 

 with a large portion of decayed and withered aquatic plants, 

 presenting when found a wet, black, and soggy bed, to all 

 appearances as uncomfortable a nest as ever fell to the lot of 

 delicate and beautiful downy creatures such as the Httle ones 

 were." (Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, Water Birds N. Amer. ii. 

 p. 442.) 



Eg-gs. — Five in number. Bluish-white, with a chalky shell- 

 covering, but becoming stained to a creamy-white or brown 

 shade. Axis, 17 inch; diam., 1*55. 



THE RAILS. ORDER RALLIFORMES. 



In this order the palate is schizognathous, and the nasals 

 holorhinal. The dorsal vertebrae are heterocoelous, and the 

 posterior process of the ilium is sufficiently perforated to show a 

 broad sacrum. The sternum has a single notch on each side 

 of the posterior margin. The oil-gland is tufted and the after 

 shaft is present on the contour feathers (cf. Sharpe, Cat. B. 

 xxiii. p. i). 



The Rails are mostly birds of an extraordinary slimness of 

 body, and, as a rule, they are great skulkers, never venturing 

 into the open unless driven out from their hiding places. This 

 is especially true of the Water-Rails and Crakes, many of the 

 tropical members of these groups being almost, or quite, 

 incapable of flight. 



