126 



214. SORA RAILS. (From Bailey.) 



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

 In the reedy swamps of the Atlantic States great numbers of this Rail are killed 

 every year. It is a highly esteemed game bird, and is usually abundant during the 

 migrations. More common in the Eastern Province of the United States, breeding 

 chiefly northward. Mr. Shields states that the Sora Rail is quite common in the 

 swamps about Los Angeles, Gala., where he obtained six sets of its eggs in the season 

 of 1886; the largest set contained fourteen and smallest seven eggs. In Ohio the 

 Carolina Crake, Common Rail, Sora or Ortolan, as it is variously called, is a com- 

 mon summer resident, breeding in the extensive swamps and wet meadows through- 

 out the State. The Carolina Rails are equally abundant on both salt and fresh 

 water marshes, but the latter places are preferable to them as breeding grounds. 

 The nest is a rude affair made of grass and weeds, placed on the ground in a tussock 

 of grass in a boggy tract of land, where there is a growth of briers, etc. The eggs 

 of Sora are ovoidal in shape, tapering gradually to the smaller end but not sharply 

 pointed. They have a ground color of dark cream or drab, darker than those of the 

 Virginia Rail; the spots are reddish-brown with purple shell spots scattered over 

 the surface, but more numerous at the large end. Twenty eggs in my collection have 

 an average size of 1.26x.90. 



215. YELLOW BAIL. Porzana novcbnramiKix (Gmel.) Geog. Dist. Eastern 

 North America from Nova Scotia and Hudson Bay west to Utah and Nevada. 



The small Yellow Crake appears to be quite rare everywhere in Eastern North 

 America or wherever found. It is known to breed in Northern Illinois, where its eggs 

 have been taken. Dr. Howard Jones has frequently taken it in the vicinity of Cir< !'- 

 ville, Ohio, and considers it nearly as common as other species, and believes it breeds 

 there, which is probably the case throughout the State. The Little Yellow Rail has 

 the same general traits common to others of this family, frequenting marshy pi 

 skulking and hiding in the wet grass to elude observation. The eggs are said to be 

 about six in number, rich buffy-brown, marked at the larger end with a cluster of 

 reddish-brown dots; sizes range from 1.05 to 1.12 long by .80 to .85 broad. 



