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Orper 8. PALUDICOLA®. Cranes, Rails, ete. 
Family 1. Rautipar. Rails, Coots, Gallinules. 
These are marsh-loving birds, their home being among the vegetation characteristic of such places. 
They run among the sedges and grasses as readily and rapidly as a mouse, It is not easy to catch a 
glimpse of the Rails unless one is so fortunate as to find one sitting on its nest, 
I. Prevailing color black or dark slate. 243. American Coot. 
Il. Prevailing color otherwise. 
A. Length about 17 inches, 239. California Clapper Rail. 
B. Length less than 12 inches, more than 7. 
1. Bill yellowish-white, less than an inch long. 241. Sora Rail. 
2. Bill reddish, about an inch and a half long. 240. Virginia Rail. 
C. Length less than 6 inches. 242. California Black Rail. 
Family 2. Gruipar. Cranes. 
These are birds of great size, comparatively. They are often mistaken for the Herons, and vice 
versa, They feed much more in the open than the Herons do, but also frequent marshy ground. 
I. Mostly pure white. 244. Whooping Crane. 
Il. Brownish-gray. 
A. Length about 35 inches, 245. Little Brown Crane. 
B. Length about 44 inches, 246. Sandhill Crane. 
Orver 9. HERODIONES. Herons, Bitterns, Ibises. 
Family 1. Arpemar. Herons, Bitterns. 
The herons are slender birds more by reason of their long, slender legs and necks than because the 
body is particularly slender. They are birds which wade in swamps and other shallow water, subsist- 
ing largely upon the animal life peculiar to such habitats. They can stand for long periods so motionless 
that they seem a part of their surroundings, 
I. Length about 45 inches. 
A. Upperparts bluish-gray; lighter. 248. Great Blue Heron. 
B. Upperparts bluish-slate-gray; darker. 249. Fannin’s Heron. 
II. Length about go inches. Pure white. 250. American Egret. 
III. Length less than 35 inches. 
A. Pure white. B.C. & H. 16. Snowy Heron. 
B. Mottled and streaked with rusty and yellowish-brown. 247. American Bittern. 
C. Back and crown black, or gray brown, streaked with 251. Black-crowned Night Heron. 
white. 
D. Back green, washed with blue-gray. H. 38. Green Heron. 
Family 2. Intwipar.  Ibises. 
But one member of this family known in the Pacific Northwest. 
B. C. & H. x7. Cae ee Glossy 
bis. 
Orpver 10. LIMICOLAS. Shore Birds. 
Family 1. CHARADRIIDAE. Plovers. 
These are short billed gleaning birds, many of which feed in the fields rather than along the margi 
of bodies of water. During their migrations they more often frequent the shores where they glean 
among the wash thrown up by the waves, Many have pleasing calls. 
I. Underparts mostly black 
A. Above conspicuously spotted with yellow. 253. American Golden Plover. 
B. Above black and white, without yellow. 252. Black-bellied Plover. 
II. Underparts not mostly black. 
A. Breast crossed by two black bands, 254. Killdeer. 
B. Breast crossed by one black band. 255. Semipalmated Plover. 
C. Breast without a black band crossing it. 
1, Length about 6.5 inches 256. Snowy Plover. 
2. Length about 10.5 inches, 
a. Hind toe present 252. Black-bellied Plover. 
b. Hind toe absent, 253. American Golden Plover. 
