NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 99 



ida. It is called Crying Bird from its loud and startling note which is 

 said to be not unlike the cry of a child in distress. Mr. Thomas H. 

 Jackson met with this species breeding in the sub-tropical wilds of the 

 Ocklawaha river in Florida. He states that this bird chooses for a 

 nesting place a secluded spot on the banks of a river or slough. Sev- 

 eral pairs often nest close together in the manner of Herons, though 

 isolated nests are frequently observed. 



The nest is made of pieces of dead vines, dry leaves and old veg- 

 etation of various kinds loosely constructed and generally bedded on a 

 mass of vines, from five to eight feet from the ground. 



The usual complement of eggs laid is five or six ; four and seven 

 are not uncommon numbers. Fourteen sets in Mr, Jackson's cabinet 

 consist of eight sets of six, one of five, two of seven, two of four and 

 one of three eggs. In size, shape and texture of shell they resemble 

 those of the domestic fowl, while in color and markings they are sim- 

 ilar to those of the Sandhill Crane — varying from almost pure white to 

 creamy, buff, and grayish-white. The eggs are variously spotted, 

 daubed and stained with brown and gray. 



A set of six eggs containing the largest specimens in the series, 

 exhibit the following dimensions: 2.57x1.80, 2.44x1.55, 2.40x1,77, 

 2.28 x 1.75, 2.39 X 1.80, 2.41 x 1.83 ; the set showing the smallest sizes are 

 given as follows: 2.21 x 1.72, 2.21 x 1.70, 2.22 x 1.62, 2.23 x 1.63, 

 2.45x1.63, 2.23x1.65.* 



208. Rallus elegans Aud. [569.] 



King Rail. 



Hab. Fresh-water marshes of Eastern United States from the Middle States, Northern Illinois, Wis- 

 consin and Kansas southward. Casually north to Massachusetts and Maine, and Ontario. 



The King Rail, Fresh-water Marsh Hen, or Red-breasted Rai!, is 

 distributed in summer from New York southward, breeding throughout 

 the inland marshes. It is a summer resident in Ohio. I collected eggs 

 of this species in a marsh a few miles from Columbus in May, 1887. 

 It is frequently confounded with the Clapper Rail ; the latter, however, 

 is confined to the vicinity of salt water, and is a bird of duller plumage. 

 The nest of this Rail is placed on the ground in.a marsh, often fastened 

 in a tussock of grass. It is composed of grass and weeds. 



The eggs vary from a dull white to cream or pale buflf, sparsely 

 dotted and spotted with reddish-brown and lilac ; six to twelve in num- 

 ber; size from 1.55 to 1.72 long by 1.15 to 1.25 broad, averaging 1.67 

 by 1. 12. 



* Ornithologist and Oologist XII, pp. 159-160. 



