HERONS, RAILS, ETC. 233 



heard at the distance of two miles. They have also various modu- 

 lations of this singular note, from the peculiarity of which they de- 

 rive their name. When wounded, they attack the gunner or his dog 

 with great resolution, and have been known to drive their sharp and 

 formidable bill at one stroke through a man's hand." 



The march of civilization has not made such sad 

 inroads upon the rails and gallinules as upon the 

 herons and birds after their kind. The low growths 

 of the marshes are too rank to be successfully 

 searched by the omnipresent gunners, and a vast 

 number of birds that are with us in season escape 

 the dangers to which they have been subjected and 

 live to come again. It is to be noted, too, that some 

 attention is paid to the bird's welfare, and during the 

 nesting season they are protected. But laws or no 

 laws, a showy crane or plumed heron has a trivial 

 money value, and is sure to be shot down sooner or 

 later, even if sitting at the time on its nest. Cer- 

 tainly birds, because not fit to eat, should not be 

 overlooked by the law-makers. They have as much 

 right to live as quails or grouse, and besides being 

 useful, have a value in being ornamental, which is 

 something to be considered, but seldom is. There is 

 no unavoidable reason why some birds once common 

 are now rare. It is not man's mere presence that 

 does the mischief, but his fiendish greed and brutal 

 indifference to the welfare of life generally. 



In the Clapper-rail of our sea-coast, the King- 

 rail of the fresh-water marshes, and the Virginia Rail 

 of both localities, we have three well-marked species 

 that are very alike in all respects, the Virginia rail 

 being a small edition of either of the others. Of 



20* 



