NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 101 



the full complement of eggs is laid by the first of May. Their color is pale 

 buffy-yellow, dotted and spotted with reddish-brown and pale lilac, with 

 an average size of 1.72x1.20, but there is a great variation in this re- 

 spect in a large series. 



212. Rallus virginianus LINN. [572.] 



Virginia Rail. 



Hab. North America, from the British Provinces south to Guatemala and Cuba. 



The Virginia Rail is an exact miniature of R. elegans, the colora- 

 tion being exactly the same ; the legs, iris and bill brown the latter 

 reddish orange at the base of the lower mandible. In summer it is 

 distributed from Canada to Florida; frequenting marshes and boggy 

 swamps. The nest is built in a tuft of reeds or grasses close to the 

 water ; it is compact and slightly hollowed. The eggs are cream or 

 buff, sparsely spotted with reddish-brown and obscure lilac ; they are 

 like those of the King or Clapper Rail, but of course, like the bird, 

 much smaller; sizes range from 1.20 to 1.28 long by .90 to .93 broad. 

 The number in a set varies from six to twelve. The Virginia Rail and 

 the Sora have habits that are very similar ; when on the wing they 

 will fly in a straight line for a short distance with dangling legs, and 

 suddenly drop into the grass. The Virginia Rail is almost exclusively 

 a fresh water bird. 



[213.] Porzana porzana (LINN.) [573.] 



Spotted Crake. 



Hab. Europe; occasional occurrence in Greenland. 



The European Spotted Crake is found in most parts of Europe, 

 Asia and Africa. Common in Italy, Sicily and in the Southern por- 

 tions of Russia. Breeds abundantly in Southern France and in 

 various parts of England. It frequents the banks of streams, ponds 

 and lakes, and the thick grasses and vegetation of marshy grounds. 

 The nest is usually built in these places, being loosely woven of 

 aquatic plants, and lined with finer material of the same ; it is often 

 placed near the water's edge, and so arranged as to be capable of float- 

 ing on the water. Spotted Rail, Spotted Water-hen, Spotted Galli- 

 nule, Water-crake, and Water Rail are names common to it in Eng- 

 land. The eggs of this bird are from seven to twelve in number; 

 pale buff or cream color, or of a yellowish-gray, spotted and 

 speckled with dark reddish-brown and tints of lavender. Six eggs, 

 collected in Southern France, in my cabinet measure I.34X.96, i.36x 

 .94, 1.32 x. 93, I.34X.94, 1.33 x. 96 and 1.32 x. 95. 



214 Porzana Carolina (LINN.) [574.] 



Sora. 



Hab. Temperate North America. South to the West Indies and Northern South America. 



The little slate-colored Carolina Rail breeds from the Middle States 



