VIRGINIA RAIL 
212. Rallus virginianus. 9.5 in. 
Coloration almost exactly like that of the King Rail, | 
but the bird is much smaller. Like that species, this 
one prefers fresh water marshes. They have a great 
aversion to flying, and, like other rails, will trust to 
their legs for safety, should danger threaten; probably 
no other birds are as dexterous as the rails in thread- 
ing their way through the close standing rushes. <A1- 
though they do not have webbed feet, they can swim 
fairly well, and also dive, but they do so only when 
they are forced to. They look extremely awkward as 
they run over the trash on the marsh, their head and 
neck erect and extended, with their head rapidly turn- 
ing from side to side as though looking for a place of 
safety. 
Notes.—A guttural, rattling “ cut-cut-cut-ee.” 
Nest.—Of grasses, on the ground or in tufts of rushes; 
eges creamy-white, specked with brown. (1.25 x .90) ; 
May, June. 
Range.—Breeds in the northern half of the United 
States and southern Canada; winters in southern U. S. 
