BIRDS FOUND IN BAYOUS AND MARSHES = 99 
all working themselves up into a fever of excitement 
equalled only by an Indian war dance; and, like the 
same, it stops only when the last one is exhausted.” ? 
The alarm call of this species is a long clear note like 
a bugle blast; it may be heard nearly a mile away. It 
is repeated over and over, as the birds fly in flocks, like 
the honk of wild geese. 
210. CALIFORNIA CLAPPER RAIL. — Rallus obsoletus. 
Famity: The Rails, Gallinules, and Coots. 
Length : 17.50. 
Adults: Upper parts greenish gray, indistinctly but broadly streaked 
with blackish brown ; under parts red-brown, washed with gray on 
neck and sides. 
Downy Young: Uniform black. 
Geographical Distribution : Salt-water marshes of the Pacific coast from 
Lower California to Oregon. 
Breeding Range: In sloughs and salt-water marshes, throughout Cali- 
fornia and Oregon. 
Breeding Season: April, May, and June. 
Nest: A loose mat of dry grass ; placed among rushes in marsh. 
Eggs: 8; buff, marked with cinnamon and lilac. Size 1.71 X 1.24. 
THIS species is abundant on the salt-water marshes in 
the vicinity of San Francisco and Oakland, and_partic- 
ularly in the south end of the bay near Alviso. They are 
either tame or exceedingly stupid birds —I believe the 
latter, for they may be captured alive during the early 
spring and late fall, as they trust to protective coloring 
and do not try to escape until too late. During the 
breeding season they are somewhat more shy, but even 
then it is nearly impossible to flush them because they 
1 Goss. 
