BIRDS OF XEW YORK 285 



Length 12-14 inches; extent 20-23; '^ving 6.5-7.5; tail 3; tarsus 2.25; 

 middle toe and claw 3; l)ill, including frontal shield, i. 7-1. 85, from rear 

 of nostril .80. 



The Florida gallinule is a fairly common summer resident in the more 

 extensive marshes of central and western New York and the Ontario-St 

 Lawrence valley, but does not seem to occur except in a few places in the 

 coastal district, or through the Hudson valley. It has recently been found to 

 be a common breeder in the marshes of Newark, X. J., and Long Island Citv. 

 In the Hudson-Champlain valley it is a neglected species, and records have 

 been made only at Ossining, Highland Falls, Green Island, and Lake Bomoseen, 

 Vt., but it is undoubtedly well established in all large marshes of that region. 

 In the Montezuma marshes it reaches its greatest abundance in New York 

 State, and hundreds of broods are annually reared, the greater portion of 

 which are destro}'ed by gunners at the beginning of the shooting season. 



The Florida gallinule arrives from the south from the 20th to the 30th 

 of April and departs from the 15th to the 30th of October. Soon after 

 arriving the birds pair and construct their nests amidst the dense growth 

 of flags or marsh grass. It is a btilk}' structure composed of dead grass 

 and flags. The eggs, which are deposited from May 25 to June 20, are from 

 8 to 14 in nmnber of a buft" or brownish white color, spotted and dyed with 

 brown and neutral shell markings. They average 1.75 x 1.2 inches in size. 



This is the common American gallinule, or Red-billed mud hen, of the 

 gunners, which is responsible for the greater j^ortion of the henlike notes 

 heard from the dense coverts of the marshes. The}' are frequently seen 

 swimming across the open spaces among the reeds, but do not live on the 

 water as generally as the coots. Mr Brewster gives a fine description of 

 their notes: 



Like the rails they are given to skulking among the grass or 

 flags but at morning and evening wc occasionally see them swimming 

 across pools or ditches, their brilliant scarlet bills and frontal shields 

 flashing in the level beams of the rising or declining sun. They are 

 noisy birds at this season and some of their cries are second only to 

 those of the Bittern in strength and grotesquencss. One of their common- 



