THE AUK : 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 

 ORNITHOLOGY. 



Vol. xxvi. January, 1909. No. 1. 



NOTES ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE YELLOW RAIL 

 IN MICHIGAN. 1 



BY NORMAN A. WOOD. 



The Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) has so seldom 

 been recorded from Michigan that, as I have recently obtained 

 some additional data on its occurrence in the State, it seems ad- 

 visable to publish these in connection with a review of the literature 

 on the subject. In Michigan, as in the neighboring territory, 

 owing to its rareness, secretiveness, or both, very little is known of 

 the habits or local distribution of this species. 



The first record is that of Abraham Sager (1839, p. 416), who 

 gives it in his list of Michigan birds under the old name of Rallus 

 noveboracensis Bon. It was next recorded by Manly Miles (1861, 

 p. 230) in his list of Michigan birds as Porzana noveboracensis Bd. 

 Neither of these writers give definite locality records. 



In 1875 Major A. H. Boies (1875), of Hudson, Michigan, pub- 

 lished a list of the 'Birds of Southern Michigan' in which he gives 

 this species as a "summer sojourner." I have recently written 

 Major Boies concerning this record and he has replied as follows: 

 "The Yellow Rail referred to in my Catalogue, Birds of Southern 

 Michigan, was taken by me in the summer of 1865, and being a 

 female — adult — I gave it as a summer sojourner." 



In his paper, 'The Migration of Michigan Birds/ Dr. J. B. 

 Steere (1881, p. 123) includes the "Little Yellow Rail" in the list 

 of birds nesting in Michigan and wintering to the south, but gives 



1 From the University Museum, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 



1 



