"^°1- ^^1 YiSHKR, Birds of Laysa/i hia lid. 395 



1903 J 



"While out this morning both my assistant and I saw a little 

 Rail break and eat an Qgg. We had disturbed from its nest a 

 Noddy (Anous) ; immediately the Rail ran up and began to 

 strike at the egg shell with its bill, but the egg being large and 

 hard, he was quite a long time before making a hole. The Rail 

 would jump high into the air, and come down with all its force 

 on the egg, until it accomplished the task, which once done the 

 egg was soon emptied. By this time the Tern came back and 

 gave chase, but in vain." (Z. c, pt. I, p. x.) 



Porzanulas lurk about. the outskirts of tern colonies all the time, 

 and I once had to frighten a Crake from the nest of a Tropic 

 Bird, while attempting to photograph the egg. I also saw a Rail 

 rush at some Telespizas and drive them from a tern's egg, upon 

 which they were feeding, as related in the account of the Finch. 

 The Rail then set to and finished the repast, dragging the embryo 

 about in an ineffectual attempt to swallow it. With such habits 

 it is difficult to see how these creatures can ever seriously be at a 

 loss to find food. 



The following episode illustrates, I think, very forcibly the fear- 

 lessness of these Rails. While photographing a nest, I propped 

 back the mass of sedge stems which obscured it. The camera 

 was only a few feet away, and during the adjusting of apparatus, 

 the Rail crept onto the eggs and energetically began to cover her- 

 self with the soft lining. After photographing her several times, I 

 lifted her off, and moved the camera still closer, but almost at 

 once she slipped back again, and settled down contentedly. 

 Then, with the focusing cloth I persuaded her to retire to the 

 tall grass, near at hand. I ran back to the camera, but on turn- 

 ing perceived my rail skipping across the flattened grasses in hot 

 pursuit, and I was able to make only a hasty inspection of the 

 ground-glass before she had settled on the nest again. It was 

 under these circumstances that Plate XV, figure 2, was secured. 

 Figure i of the same plate shows the Rail. 



The Rails make their nests either in the midst of thick tussocks 

 of tall grass, near the ground, or else in close-matted clumps of a 

 juncus-like sedge, which grows in a narrow band along the outer- 

 most edge of the lagoon-plain, just where the area of bushy grass 

 and brush begins. We had only to walk over the tangled beds of 



