VOl i907^ V ] Brewster, Notes on the Black Rail of California. 205 



the ordinary 'stock cards' furnished by firms for card catalogue 

 purposes. In large quantities they should be obtained in this 

 way ruled, cut, and printed, for $1.35-$1.50 per M. 



It is often desirable to have a bird's-eye view of the numbers of 

 birds of each species observed each day in order to study relative 

 dates of arrival and departure, relative abundance, etc. For 

 this purpose I keep on a simple system of quadrille rulings the 

 numbers of the birds of each species seen or heard each day and 

 nothing more, these same numbers appearing on the cards in ampli- 

 fied form in case such species have also been given card records. 

 It frequently happens that enough data are not collected on a 

 given species to entitle it to a card record. To illustrate, if a Hawk 

 were seen flying overhead too far away to determine condition of 

 plumage, stage of moult, etc., and admitting of no note other than a 

 mere record of its occurrence, this record would be placed on the 

 quadrille ruled sheet, and not entered upon a card. I may, at 

 some future date, explain to the readers of 'The Auk' my method 

 of keeping these quadrille ruled sheets. 



NOTES ON THE BLACK RAIL OF CALIFORNIA. 



BY WILLIAM BREWSTEK. 



Under the name Porzana Jamaicensis, var. coturniculus Baird 1 

 Mr. Ridgway, in 1874, described 2 a Rail said to have been obtained 

 on the Farallones off the coast of California and to differ "from 

 var. Jamaicensis of southeastern United States, West Indies and 

 South America, in smaller size, and more uniform colors," the back 



JThe name and its authority were thus written originally by Mr. Ridgway. 

 They have since appeared in print in various forms, as Porzana jamaicensis cotur- 

 niculus Baird (Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Ill, 1880, 202, 222), Porzana jamai- 

 censis, var. coturniculus, " Baird MS." (Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, Water Birds 

 of North America, 1, 1884, 378), P. jamaicensis coturniculus Baird (Ridgway, Manual 

 of North American Birds, 1st ed., 1887, 140), P. coturniculus Baird (Ibid,, 2d ed., 

 1896,140), and Porzana coturniculus (Ridgw.), (A. O. U Check-List, 2d ed., 1895, 

 80). 



2 American Naturalist, VIII, 1874,J111. 



