RAIL SHOOTING. 127 



reddish, buff; vent, brownish, buff; legs, feet, 

 and naked part of the thighs, yellowish green; 

 exterior edge of the wing, white; eyes, reddish 

 hazel. 



" The females, and young of the first season, 

 have the throat white, the breast pale brown, 

 and little or no black on the head. The males 

 may always be distinguished by their ashy blue 

 breasts and black throats." 



During the summer months, the flat shores of 

 the Delaware, in winter so bleak and devoid of 

 interest, present to the stranger's gaze a spectacle 

 of unwonted beauty. Standing upon the long 

 embankment which keeps off the tides from the 

 range of meadows behind him, he sees a vast, 

 waving belt or border of bright, luxuriant green, 

 extending from the base of the bank to the low- 

 water mark, and stretching along the course of 

 the river, in rich, dense array, as far as the eye 

 can reach. When the tall reeds which compose 

 this magnificent fringe, have attained their full 

 height, their vivid verdue and slender feathery 

 tops, over and among which countless flocks of 

 birds are continually rising and settling, impart 

 an almost oriental character to these alluvial 

 marshes. The effect is heightened by the com- 

 pactness with which the wild plants grow, the 



