Wayne: Birds of South Carolina. 35 



FAMILY ARAMID^: COURLANS. 



78. Aramus vociferus (Lath.). Limpkin. 



The first record for the occurrence of the Limpkin in South 

 Carolina was based upon two specimens taken in Aiken county 

 on the Savannah River. I herewith transcribe the account 

 which I pubhshed in the Ank:^ 



I am indebted to Dr. Eugene Edmund Murphey for the privilege of recording 

 the capture of two Limpkins (Aramus giganteus) that were taken at Twiggs Dead 

 River, Aiken County, South Carolina. One of them, an adult male was taken by 

 iVIr. W. H. Twiggs, October 18, 1890, and preserved by Mr. George P. Butler, 

 of Augusta, Georgia. This specimen is now in my collection. The negroes on 

 the plantation told Mr. Twiggs that there had been a pair of the birds, but that 

 they had killed and eaten one a few days before. This record is a very impor- 

 tant one, as the Limpkin has not been taken before in any part of the United 

 States except in Florida. In 1894, I found this species breeding abundantly on 

 the Wacissa River, Florida, which brought its range to within eighteen miles of 

 the Georgia line. (See 'The Auk,' October, 1895, p. 366.) 



A specimen of this peculiar species was taken by Mr. W. L. 

 Harris, in his yard on Water Street, in the city of Charleston in 

 July, 1904. The bird is mounted and is now in the Charleston 

 Museum. Prof. Paul M. Rea has reported the capture in the 

 Bulletin of the Charleston Museum.' 



FAMILY RALLID^: RAILS, GALLINULES, AND COOTS. 



79. Rallus elegans Aud. King Rail. 



This fine species, which is locally known as the Freshwater 

 Marsh Hen, is abundant on abandoned rice plantations and in 

 ponds of fresh water where there is a dense growth of reeds and 

 water plants. It is a permanent resident, but during protracted 

 droughts is forced to migrate from the ponds in order to procure 

 food and water. On the freshwater rivers it is most numerous, 

 and breeds in numbers. 



Dr. Bachman says in Audubon's Birds of America:' 



The nests were placed on the ground, and raised to the height of si.x or eight 

 inches by means of withered weeds and grasses. The number of eggs was nine 

 or ten. About the middle of March I found a few nests containing two or three 

 eggs each; but, in my opinion, the greater number of these birds commence breed- 

 ing about the middle of .\pril. 



My experience in regard to the breeding of this species has 

 been exactly contrary to Dr. Bachman's, as the numerous nests 

 that I have found have been invariably placed in rushes or 

 button-wood bushes, eight inches to a foot and a half over water. 



» XXIII, 1906, 231. s II, 55. ' V, 161. 



