RAILS, GALLINULES AND COOTS 



1005 



A HOME IN THE MARSHES 

 This nest of a Sora rail is in a large plant of the Arrow arum. 



what similar to an immature sora but is considerably 

 smaller and can be distinguished by a white patch in the 

 wing. The black rail is the smallest and least known of 

 them all, being but little larger than a wren. Since it 

 darts around like a mouse through the grassy marshes 

 and is seldom flushed, it is scarcely ever seen even where 

 it is nesting. 



Rails on the whole are not very intelligent birds and be- 

 cause of their life in the dense vegetation have apparent- 

 ly become very short sighted. They are quick to detect 

 motion but if one remains perfectly still, they will some- 



times approach and even run over one's feet. With their 

 short rounded wings and soft plumage, it is not to be 

 wondered at that they prefer to run rather than to fly, 

 but it is surprising to discover what long distances some 

 of them traverse on the migration. Sora rails, for ex- 

 ample, regularly migrate to South America and on one 

 occasion, at least, a sora has flown across the Atlantic 

 to Great Britain. 



Rails, gallinules and coots are all considered game 

 birds and are shot in considerable numbers, especially 



Photograph by H. L. Sharp 



A SORA'S PROSPECTS 



Three of the eggs have hatched into little black powder puffs that are 

 curiously ornamented with tufts of orange whiskers beneath the bill and 

 drops of red sealing wax above. 



in the South. The rails are very small, however, their 

 flesh is of inferior quality, and they are such weak flyers 

 that they furnish a very low grade of sport for hunters 

 other than boys. 



SOUTHWESTERN FOREST SUPERVISORS HOLD IMPORTANT CONFERENCE 



XT 0\V to obtain an accurate inventory of the timber 

 of the Southwestern National Forests, to determine 

 the extent of past cuttings, to secure growth and yield 

 figures, in short to lay a better foundation for scientific 

 management of the Forests, was one of the chief topics 

 of discussion at the meeting of the fifteen supervisors 

 and the district officers of the Arizona and New Mexico 

 Forests, who met in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during 

 the week beginning February 10th. A workable scheme 

 for an extensive program of silvicultural management 

 was presented and approved. 



Many other problems of Forest administration, par- 

 ticularly those dealing with publicity, land classification, 



education, game, fire protection and grazing were de- 

 bated. 



The timber sale business in the Southwestern district 

 is large. In the fiscal year 1918, 121 million feet were 

 cut under sale contracts, having a value of $273,500.00. 



At this meeting was displayed a device for more ac- 

 curately determining the location of forest fires, invented 

 by W. H. Gill of the Albuquerque office of the Forest 

 Service. The device, called a cameragraph, is a pro- 

 posed substitute for panoramic maps, which have been 

 extensively used in both eastern and western Forests, 

 especially in connection with the Osborne "fire-finder" 

 in the northwestern Forests. 



