140 RAILS, GALL1NULES, AND COOTS. 



II. Bill under 1-75. 

 A. Wing over 6-00. 



a. General color blue, feet yellow 218. PURPLE GALLINULE. 



b. General color slafy, feet dark greenish. 



b l . Toes with large scalloped webs or flaps at the side. 221. AM. COOT. 



2 . Toes without flaps or webs 219. FLORIDA GALLINULE. 



R Wing under 6-00. 



a. Wing under 3-50. 



a 1 . Back blackish, with small round, white spots . 216. BLACK KAIL. 

 a a . Back blackish, barred with white and margined with buffy. 



215. YELLOW KAIL. 



b. Wing over 3*50. 



A. Bill over 1-00 212. VIRGINIA RAIL. 



o. Bill under 1-00. 



c a . Wing over 4-50, lesser wing-coverts rufous . 217. CORN CRAKE. 



c 3 . Wing under 4*50, lesser wing-coverts olive .... 214. SORA. 



208. Rallus elegans And. KING RAIL; MARSH HEN. Ad. Upper 

 parts varying from olive-brown to black, the back and scapulars widely mar- 

 gined with olive-gray; wings and tail olive-brown; wing-coverts rufous; 

 throat white; neck and breast cinnamon-rufous; belly and sides fuscous, 

 sharply barred with white. Downy Young Glossy black. L., 15-00 ; W., 

 6-50 ; Tar., 2-20 ; B., 2-40. 



Range. Eastern North America; breeds as far north as Missouri and 

 southern Connecticut, and occasionally strays as far as Wisconsin, Ontario, 

 and Maine ; winters from Virginia southward. 



Washington, uncommon S. R., almost a P. R. Long Island, rare S. R. 



Nest, of grasses, on the ground in fresh-water marshes. Eygs, seven to 

 twelve, buffy white, more heavily spotted and speckled with rufous-brown 

 than those of the next species, 1*68 x 1*20. 



The King Rail is the fresh-water representative of the Clapper Rail. 

 It is, however, a much less common bird, and less is known of its 

 habits. Like other Rails, it is a skulker, and never flies when it can 

 escape by running or hiding in the dense grass of its home. On three 

 occasions I have heard what I am quite sure was the King Rail's call, 

 a loud, startling bup, bup, bup, bup, bup, uttered with increasing ra- 

 pidity until the syllables were barely distinguishable, then ending some- 

 what as it began. The whole performance occupied about five seconds. 



211. Rallus longirostris crepitans (Gmel.). CLAPPER RAIL; 

 MARSH HEN. (See Fig. 22, a.) Ad. Upper parts very pale greenish olive, 

 the feathers widely margined with gray ; wings and tail grayish brown ; 

 wing-coverts pale cinnamon, nuu-h washed with gray; throat white; neck 

 and breast pale, between ochraccous and cream-buff, more or less washed 

 with grayish ; belly and sides gray or brownish gray, barred with white. 

 Downy Young Glossy black. L., 14-50 ; W., 5-00 ; Tar., 2-00 ; B., 2-50. 



Itetiiarks. The Clapper Kail may always be known from the King Rail 



