BIRDS OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 



95 



ture: Chiefly brown; sides of throat 

 black; plume short. Call a single, 

 strong, mellow, whistled woork, given 

 at intervals. 



R. on mountain slopes covered with 

 brush (manzanita, chinquapin, snow- 

 bush, etc.) and broken forest. In higher 

 mountains migrates on foot to lower 

 elevations in winter. In Yosemite, R. in 

 the Canadian and Transition life-zones. 

 Occurs with the California quail in 

 the lower Transition zone, as in Yo- 

 semite Valley. 



CALIFORNIA QUAIL (Lophortyx 



calif ornica): 9/2-II in. Above gray- 



^ 7 ish-brown; forehead tawny; top of head 



brown; feathers of belly edged with 



CALIFORNIA QUAIL 





^.f 9y,-ri 





^[it^^^v^ 



VIRGINIA RAIL 



black giving scaled appearance; belly 

 buff, with rusty patch in middle; sides 

 brown, with whitish streaks; bib of 

 black with white border; plume black 

 tipping forward toward bill. Female: 

 Lacks black bib and is generally duller; 

 plume smaller. California state bird. 

 As with mountain quail, birds gather in 

 covies. 



Favors brushland broken by tracts of 

 grass or weedy ground. Found at lower 

 elevations in the Yosemite' region, in 

 the Upper Sonoran life-zone and occa- 

 sionally in the lower Transition life- 

 zone, as in Yosemite Valley. 



CRANE-LIKE BIRDS: 

 Order Gruiformes 



RAILS: Family Rallidae 



VIRGINIA RAIL (Rallus limicola): 

 9- 10 1/2 in. Above dark brown; sides 

 of head gray; white line over eye 

 reaches bill; breast cinnamon; posterior 

 portion of belly black crossed by lines 

 of white ; wings short ; bill long, slightly 

 curved near tip, brownish. Immature: 

 Dull black above; chin and throat 

 white; remaining under parts black 

 and white. When walking jerks head 

 and neck. Secretive. 



Frequents freshwater marshes and 

 sometimes salt marshes. C. V. to Yo- 

 semite region in summer. Has been 

 .een in Yosemite Valley. 



AMERICAN COOT (Fulica ameri- 

 cana): 13-16 in. Head and neck black, 

 setting off whitish bdl; bill with dark 

 spots at tip; most of rest of body slate- 

 gray; white area under tail; iris red; 

 feet greenish with lobed toes. Imma- 

 ture: Below whitish; no dark" spots on 

 bill ; iris brown. Very young birds black 

 with orange-red bill and orange on 

 throat, head, and back. Moves head 

 back and forth when swimming. 



R. on lakes and marshes. In winter 



withdraws from higher altitudes to 



lowlands. C. V. to Yosemite region; 



on Merced River, Mirror Lake, and 



ligh Sierran lakes. 



