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VIRGINIA RAIL. 



red-breasted rail. lesser clapper rail. 



Rallus virginianus. 



Char. General coloration rufous. Above, tawny olive striped with 

 dusky ; wing-coverts rich bay ; crown dusky ; below, light reddish brown, 

 paler on the belly. Length about 7^2 inches. 



Nest. On the ground amid a tuft of grass on the marshy margin of a 

 lake or stream, sometimes in a salt-marsh, usually placed close to the 

 water's edge, — a deep, saucer-shaped affair of reed-stalks and grass, and 

 rather compactly built. 



Eggs. 6-12 (usually 8) ; pale cream or reddish buff, spotted with brown 

 and lavender; 1.25 X 0.90. 



The Virginian or Lesser Clapper Rail, scarcely distinguish- 

 able from the preceding but by its inferior size, is likewise a 



