BIEDS OF INDIANA. 677 



distance between its breeding grounds and winter home. They are 

 hard to flush, and after a short flight drop among the reeds or grass 

 and are not seen again. Prof. W. W. Cooke says "it can be found 

 throughout the year in southern Illinois." (Bird Migration in Miss. 

 Valley, p. 87.) 



Subgenus COTURNICOPS Bonaparte. 



79. (215). Porzana noveboracensis (GMEL.). 



Yellow Bail. 

 Synonym, LITTLE YELLOW BAIL. 



Above, varied with blackish and ochrey-brown, and thickly marked 

 with narrow white semicircles and transverse bars; below, pale, 

 ochrey-brown, middle belly white, deepest on the breast, where many 

 of the feathers are tipped with dark brown; flanks, rufous, with many 

 white bars; secondaries and lining of the wing, white; a brownish- 

 yellow streak over the eye. 



Length, 6.00-7.75; wing, 3.00-3.60; bill, .50-.60; tarsus, .95-1.00. 



EANGE. North America; most common east of Eocky Mountains. 

 Breeds from Indiana north to Nova Scotia and Hudson Bay. Winters 

 from Illinois south to Cuba and Bermuda. 



Nest, of grass, on ground in marsh. Eggs, 6 or more; creamy buff; 

 densely sprinkled and speckled on larger end with rusty brown; 1.12 

 by .83 (Ridgw. Manual). 



Rare migrant; summer resident, very local; probably breeds. 



The small size of this Rail renders it undesirable from the point of 

 view of the sportsman. This, coupled with its retiring ways and slow- 

 ness to take wing, render it so inconspicuous that while it is often seen 

 yet but few who see it recognize it. My first acquaintance with it was 

 near Brookville in the fall of 1879. A farmer was plowing in a field 

 in September through which ran a slight depression, which was usu- 

 ally damp, and there grew some sedges and rank grass. One round a 

 Yellow Rail ran out of the growth ahead of the horses. He stopped 

 the team and ran after it. The bird did not attempt to fly, and was 

 easily caught. He also caught at least one other and saw still more. 

 He brought the bird to me and I visited the place a day or two after, 

 on September 18. All the ground was plowed except a narrow strip 

 of the wet land. From that, after some effort, I succeeded in flushing 

 two of the birds, which I secured. 



Those who have met with the Yellow Rail agree that it is the dryer 

 marshes or wet prairies or meadows that it prefers; the more decidedly 

 marshy ground is frequented by the larger Rails. 



