ANDER.SON — THE BIRDS OF IOWA. 209 



"noted from Lake Park in fall of 1895" (Salisbury). Johnson — 

 "one specimen secured near Iowa City, Mus. No. 8948, female, 

 May 27, 1892, Vogt's Swamp, by F. Carroll (Proc. Iowa Acad. 

 Sci., 1892,41)." Lee — "rare migrant in spring" (Praeger); mi- 

 grant, but very irregular in numbers and occurrence" (Currier). 

 Linn — ' 'rare migrant; occasional summer resident' ' (Berry). Scott 

 — "rare migrant; one shot Sept. 20, 1890" (Wilson). Amaleand 

 female in the Bartsch collection were shot Sept. 9, 1898, in Hen- 

 derson county. 111., (across the river from Burlington, Iowa). 



Subgenus CreciscUvS Cabanis. 



84. (216). Porrja)ia Jaiiiaiceiisis (Gmel.). Black Rail. 



The Black Rail appears to be even rarer than the preceding 

 .species, its range not extending so far to the north. Its habits 

 are similar. 



County records: Blackhawk — "rare migrant; one specimen 

 mounted" (Walters). Des Moines — "Burlington, Iowa, 1892 — 

 specimen in the flesh examined by me" (Nutting, Proc. Iowa 

 Acad. Sci., 1892, 41). Lee — "very rare — Keokuk district" (Prae- 

 ger). Linn — "a set of eggs was found by mj^self in 1899, too far 

 incubated to save" (Berry). Van Buren — ".some 17 or 18 years 

 ago a farmer caught one with his hands while plowing in a swamp 

 and brought it to me. This is the only time that I have known 

 it to occur here — Hillsboro" (W.J. Savage). Webster — "rare; 

 July II, 1899, killed a small rail of some sort new to me, along 

 the edge of the slough in Black's field just east of the rendering 

 works (Fort Dodge). It is 55^ inches in length; dark slate on 

 head and breast, back dark brown tinging to a reddish at back of 

 neck" (Somes). 



Subfamily GALLINULIN.^. Gallinules. 

 Genus Ionornis Reichenbach. 



85. (218). lononiis viarfhiica [Ui'n.n.). Purple Gallinule. 

 This brilliant southern species is only an accidental visitor in 



Iowa. It is listed by J. A. Allen (White's Geol. of Iowa, ii, 1870, 

 426), and John Krider states that he found it breeding in Iowa 

 (Forty Years' Notes, 60). Morton E. Peck reports: "One .speci- 

 men from Blackhawk county, an estray from the south." 



