22 Weber, Virginia and Sara Rails. [fan 



seemed wonderful to me how the little bird managed to keep her 

 fourteen comparatively large eggs warm. She succeeded, how- 

 ever, for they were found to be in various stages of advanced in- 

 cubation. So deeply cup-shaped was the nest that the eggs around 

 the edge were in an almost vertical position, thereby considerably 

 reducing the horizontal area to be covered. Upon a subsequent 

 visit to the nest, two of the eggs were found in the center of the 

 nest lying on top of the others ; a habit also shared by the domestic 

 hen of placing one egg in this position. The bird probably shifted 

 the eggs occasionally so as to get the others in this position to give 

 them an extra amount of heat and render their hatching more 

 certain. 



Ridgway's 'Manual of the Birds of North America,' states the 

 size of the Sora's eggs as 1.23 X .89 inches; the average size of the 

 above set is 1.18 X .89 inches, but the loss in size of the individual 

 egg is amply supplied by the larger number of eggs in the clutch, 

 numbering 14 while Ridgway's 'Manual' quotes the number as 

 9 to 12. The measurements of two sets of Virginia Rail's eggs 

 showed an average of 1.32 X .98 and 1.22 X .92 inches proving 

 the eggs of this bird to be larger than the Sora's; but the difference 

 in size is not as apparent as the difference in color and the distribu- 

 tion of the markings. The ground color of the Virginia's eggs is 

 cream buff, that of the Sora is much darker, being deep brownish 

 buff. The eggs of both species are abundantly spotted and speckled 

 with chocolate brown and a few purplish gray and greenish spots 

 and specks; but the spots of the Virginia's eggs form a dense 

 cluster around the larger end, while on the Sora's they are evenly 

 distributed over the egg with no tendency to cluster at the larger end. 



During the past few years building operations and street im- 

 provements have encroached so much on the breeding grounds of 

 the Rails, Red-winged Blackbirds and Meadowlarks, that I fear 

 the breeding of these birds in this localitv will soon terminate. 



