THE KING KAIL. 



401 



The King Rail, again, is very similar J;o the Clapper Rail 

 (Rallus crepitans, or htogirestris), simply a little larger and 



THE CLAPPER RAIL. 



brighter, and more beautiful in color. The notorious noise 

 of the latter, so common to marshes of the Atlantic States 

 to New York, is very much like that of the guinea-fowl, 

 while its nidification is similar to that of the virginianus and 

 degans. The Clapper Rail is not only noticeably smaller 

 than the King Rail, but the upper parts have a more ashy 

 and colder coloring, while the lower parts are duller and 

 more yellowish. 



How perfect is the law of adaptation in nature, and how 

 wonderful are family traits. The natural world is not a 

 medley, but a system, in which families and orders are 

 grouped in beautiful consistency of place, structure and 

 habit. Among the sedges and cat-tails of our marshes is 

 this strongly marked family of birds, the Rails; with wings 

 apparently too short and weak for extended flight, and yet 

 performing wonders in the time of migration; not only with 

 a body proportioned and balanced for running, but capable 

 of compression to the narrowness of a wedge, in order 



