^°^i9lO^^^] Miller, The Florida Gallinule in Philadelphia Co. 181 



does swimming near the duck, often facing her in his eagerness, 

 while she floats about indifferently, or at times shows her interest 

 and appreciation by facing him and throwing up her head a little 

 in a gentle imitation of his forcefulness. 



The courtship of the Eider, although less striking and elaborate, 

 bears a strong family resemblance to that of the Golden-eye. 



NOTES ON THE FLORIDA GALLINULE (GALLINULA 

 GALEATA) IN PHILADELPHIA COUNTY, PA. 



BY RICHARD F. MILLER. 



It is a generally well known fact that our birds are slowly becom- 

 ing fewer in the vicinity of our great cities, and on this account it is 

 gratifying to record the discovery of a species inhabiting a restricted 

 area near Philadelphia, which appeared here only recently, and is 

 annually increasing in numbers. This is the Florida Gallinule, 

 a large bird, whose existence as a summer resident in Southeastern 

 Pennsylvania was unknown until 1904, when- 1 found it breeding 

 at Port Richmond, Philadelphia County, in a deep-water cattail 

 marsh, and, as in all such discoveries, the detection of the birds was 

 purely accidental. 



Probably the reason it has escaped notice is on account of its 

 secretive habits, and this alone has saved it from destruction by 

 gunners. In my opinion, it has been overlooked chiefly because 

 very few of our ornithologists are enthusiatic marsh nest hunters, 

 and it seems to me that their ardor is deteriorating, as few of them are 

 ambitious enough to don old clothes and wade through slimy mud 

 and dirty water in quest of knowledge of marsh birds. This4is 

 probably the reason why there is so little known regarding the 

 nidification and other habits of these birds. 



A brief summary of our knowledge of the occurrence of the 

 Florida Gallinule in this locality, prior to its discovery as a summer 

 resident, will not be amiss. It appears not to have been very well 

 known to the older ornithologists, who generally regarded it as a 



