Rail- shooting 281 



CARIBBEAN CLAPPER RAIL 

 r (^Rallus longirostris caribaus) 



Adult male and female — Similar to R. crepitans in coloring, but 



bill very long, slender, and much decurved. 

 Measurements — Wing, 5.75 inches; bill, 2.40 inches; tarsus, 1.85 



inches. 

 Eggs — Five to fifteen in number, white to brownish buff, spotted 



with rusty brown and purpHsh gray. 

 Habitat — West Indies and the Gulf Coast of Mexico, north to Texas. 



This bird resembles the clapper rail in habits, 

 and is only found in the United States on the 

 coast of Texas, where it occurs north to Corpus 

 Christi and Galveston. 



They are said to be very abundant in the 

 swamps on the coast of Jamaica, keeping 

 carefully out of sight, their presence usually 

 disclosed only by the harsh crek which they 

 frequently utter. Late in the evening and at 

 dawn they are very noisy, and then come to the 

 small openings in the marshes to feed. They 

 breed on the ground among the roots of the man- 

 groves, forming a large nest of roots and leaves, 

 hundreds often nesting in a single swamp. The 

 eggs are from five to eleven in number. From 

 its habits this bird is known as the mangrove-hen. 



/. 



VIRGINIA RAIL 

 {Rallus virginiamts) 



Adult male and female — Similar to R. elegans but more deeply 

 colored. Above, olive, deeply striped with black ; wing-coverts, 

 rufous ; remainder of upper parts, dusky ; top of head and back 



