210 CURSORES. 
This is very observable in the Virginia Rail, the fea- 
thers forming a thick, close, and almost impervious 
covering, protecting it from the water, in which it 
not only wades to a considerable depth, but also 
swims with great ease. This bird is extremely active 
upon its feet, and upon a level run would almost be 
a match fora man. If pursued bya dog it will run 
for a short distance and then tack about, or will rise 
upon the wing, and with dangling legs fly some dozen 
yards or so, and then dropping among the grass, 
scamper off as fast as possible. At the approach of 
danger it will sometimes cling to the stems of the 
weeds below the surface of the water, among which 
it seems almost as much at home as when nimbly 
skipping about over the broad leaves of the Water 
Lily which abounds in our inland ponds. 
The nest of this Rail is placed on a small eleva- 
tion formed by collecting together the stalks of a 
