BIRDS FOUND IN BAYOUS AND MARSHES 
212. VIRGINIA RAIL. — Rallus virginianus. 
Famity: The Rails, Gallinules, and Coots. 
Length: 9.30. 
Adults: Upper parts brownish olive, striped with sooty ; breast 
and wing-coverts light chestnut ; wings and tail dark olive- 
brown ; cheeks gray ; throat white ; under parts light chest- 
nut; sides barred with white. 
Downy Young: Uniform black. 
Geographical Distribution: North America, from the British 
provinces south to Guatemala. 
Breeding Range: Wherever resident. 
breeding Season: April, May, and June. 
Nest: A mat of grasses ; placed on a hummock in a marsh. 
Eggs: 7 to 12; buffy, marked with chestnut. Size 1.24 X 0.94. 
THe Virginia Rail, although more common east 
of the Rockies, is by no means rare throughout 
California. He is an odd-looking 
bird with voice and manners in keep- 
ing with his appearance. In 
the early morning and at 
twilight his call is a curi- 
c® 
\\ 
and squeal. The love 
ous combination of grunt 
\} . 
" x 
Vite 
\ 
song, however, is quite 
different ; it is de- | . 
scribed as “a guttural te leh 
cut, cutta-cutta-cutta oft — 
repeated for hours in suc- 
cession.” 
You have only 
to visit a marsh lake in 
the afternoon or early in 212. Virernta RAIL. 
the morning and listen, ** Picking his way cautiously between the tules.” 
