284 The IVater-fowl Family 



mark the limit of their stay in the north, though 

 a few remain until winter. The distribution of 

 this variety is extensive, from the Atlantic to the 

 Pacific, and from Florida to southern Canada. 



SPOTTED CRAKE 

 {Porzatia porzaiia) 



Adult male and female — Upper parts olive-brown, striped with 



black ; broad line above eye, malar region, chin, and throat, 



uniform gray; ear-coverts, neck, and chest, light hair brown, 



spotted with white. 

 Young — Similar, with the stripe above the eye spotted with white ; 



malar regions, chin and throat, white, spotted with brown ; the 



breast and belly washed with pale buff. 

 Measurements — hengih, 8.50 inches; wing, 4.33 inches; bill, .70 



inch; tarsus, 1.25 inches. 

 Eggs — Eight to twelve, dull buff, spotted with brown and purplish 



gray, measure 1.35 by .95 inch. 

 Habitat — Northern parts of the Old World ; occasional in Greenland. 



This species, common in various parts of 

 Europe, has been taken accidentally in Green- 

 land, and hence is included in the American 

 Check-list. It inhabits the dense vegetation of 

 marshes and the banks of streams and ponds, 

 placing its nest, loosely made from water-plants, 

 close to the water. Other names for this bird are 

 spotted rail, spotted water-hen, spotted gallinule, 

 and water rail. 



/CAROLINA RAIL 

 V (JPorzana Carolina) 

 Adult male and female — Upper parts olive-brown spotted with 

 black, some of the feathers edged with white ; top of head 

 marked with a broad blagk stripe ; head anteriorly with chin 



