120 RALLUS CAROLIKUS. 



discovered it to be a rail, very vigorous, and in perfect 

 health. The bird was placed in a small room, on a ^in- 

 case, and I was amusing myself with it, when, in the 

 act of pointing my finder at it, it suddenly sprang forward, 

 apparently much irritated, fell to the floor,;ind, stretching 

 out its feet, and bending its neck until the head near ly 

 touched the back, became to all appearance lifel^-*. 

 Thinking the fall had killed the bird, I took it up, and 

 be^an to lament my rashness in provoking it. In a 

 few minutes it again breathed, and it was some time 

 before it perfectly recovered from the fit, into which, it 

 now appeared evident, it had fallen. I placed the rail 

 in a room, wherein canary birds were confined, and 

 resolved that, on the succeeding day, I would endeavour 

 to discover whether or no the passion of anger had 

 produced the fit. I entered the room at the appointed 

 time, and approached the bird, which had retired, on 

 beholding me, in a sullen humour, to a corner. On 

 pointing my finger at it, its feathers were immediately 

 ruffled, and in an instant it sprang forward, as in the 

 first instance, and fell into a similar fit. The following 

 day the experiment was repeated with the like effect. 

 In the fall of 181 1, as I was gunning amongst the reeds 

 in pursuit of rail, 1 perceived one rise but a few feet 

 before my batteau. The bird had risen about a yard 

 when it became entangled in the tops of a small bunch 

 of reeds, and immediately fell. Its feet and neck were 

 extended, as in the instance above mentioned, and, before 

 it had time to recover, I killed it. Some few days 

 afterwards, as a friend and I were gunning in the same 

 place, he shot a rail, and, as we approached the spot to 

 pick it up, another was perceived, not a foot off, in a 

 fit. I took up the bird, and placed it in the crown of 

 my hat. In a few moments it revived, and was as 

 vigorous as ever. These facts go to prove, that the rail 

 is subject to gusts of passion, which operate to so violent 

 a degree as to produce a disease, similar in its effects to 

 epilepsy. I leave the explication of the phenomenon 

 to those physiologists who are competent and willing 

 to investigate it. It may be worthy of remark, tha 



