208 Brewster, Notes on the Black Rail of California. [April 



me. The dates on which the latter were taken range from Octo- 

 ber 24 to November 26, 1897. 



The Black Rails which inhabit the eastern United States and 

 Jamaica may be easily distinguished from those found in California 

 by the following characters : — 



Porzana jamaicensis (Gmel.). 

 Black Rail. 



Larger with stouter deeper bill; the chestnut brown of the upper parts 

 chiefly confined to the nape and nearly or quite wanting on the crown 

 which is plain dark plumbeous or slaty, seldom if ever tinged with chestnut 

 brown even in young birds. 



Habitat. West Indies (Jamaica and Cuba) and eastern United States, 

 ranging as far north as Massachusetts and Illinois, as far west as western 

 Kansas. Said to inhabit Middle and South America also. 



Porzana jamaicensis coturniculus Ridgway. 



California Black Rail. 



Smaller with much slenderer bill; the plumbeous of the under parts 

 deeper, the chestnut brown of the upper parts brighter and more extended, 

 forming a broader patch on the nape and tinging more or less strongly 

 and generally much of the top of the head where there is often no pure 

 unmixed plumbeous or slaty save on the forehead. 



Habitat. Coast region of California, occurring abundantly just to the 

 north of San Francisco. 



Porzana jamaicensis (Gmel.). 



•Collection of William Brewster. 

 Collection of E. A. and O. Bangs. 

 3 Collection of U. S. Nat. Museum. 



