THE CAROLINA RAIL. 443 



It contains 7-12 eggs, some 1.20X-90, of a rich, clear brown- 

 ish drab, with scattered and distinct specks, and large spots 

 of dark umber and light gray. The young, looking like 

 diminutive black chickens, with a bit of red under the chin, 

 run about as soon as hatched. 



Some 8-9 inches long, with the short, round wings, short 

 pointed tail of soft feathers, and long slender toes, common 

 to all the Rails, but with the shorter, stouter bill, common 

 to the genius Porzana, it is olive-brown above, spotted with 

 black and streaked with white; space around the base of 

 the bill, and stripe down the throat and breast, black; sides 

 of the head, neck and breast, ash, shading into the olive- 

 brown above; flanks crossed with white and black or brown- 

 ish-gray; belly, white; under- tail coverts rufescent. The 

 young have the markings, especially those about the head, 

 somewhat obscure. 



These Rails may move with prolonged and steady flight, 

 sometimes in flocks, spending the winter in the Southern 

 States and beyond. They have alighted on vessels far out 

 at sea. 



In this genus Porzana, distinguishable from the genus 

 Rallus principally by the shortness of the bill, are the Yel- 

 low Rail (Porzana noveboracensis) and the Black Rail (Porzana 

 jamaicensis). They are both very small, about 5.00-6.00 long, 

 the latter being an extremely southern species, in fact, be- 

 longing more particularly to Central and South America, 

 and the former a rather rare one of Eastern North America, 

 sometimes going as far north as Hudson's Bay. It is occa- 

 sionally found in Western New York. The general color is 

 blackish, marked or varied with ochery-brown, the nar- 

 row white edges of the feathers appearing like semicircles, 

 while there are also narrow transverse bars of white, the 

 breast being ochery-brown and becoming light on the belly. 



