332 THE RAILS AND REED BIRDS 



and when in good condition prefer it to most other 

 kinds of game ; at all events we can eat more rails and 

 partake of them more constantly without feeling tired 

 of them than any other game bird. They are particu- 

 larly tender, rich, juicy, and delicate, and do not clog 

 the stomach by quantity or satiate the appetite by daily 

 indulgence." 



The king-rail is equally good on the table. I not 

 long ago took a lot of them to an excellent cook, and 

 he cooked them after I was seated at the table, and I 

 must say I have seldom eaten better birds. If they 

 would only fly faster and stronger they would be 

 game magnificent. 



As the larger birds become scarce the Western sports- 

 men will, no doubt, give more attention to these birds, 

 and there is a goodly lot of them on all the marshes 

 now owned by the duck-clubs. 



The common rail or sora is about the size of a spar- 

 row, and is of a dark bluish-gray color, something like 

 the common coot or mud-hen. The Virginia rail is 

 about the same in size, but is a brown bird marked with 

 yellowish gray and black. The king-rail is four or five 

 times as large, but is identical in color and markings 

 with the Virginia rail. The clapper-rail is about the 

 size of the king-rail, but not nearly so good to eat. 

 The flesh, notwithstanding all the arts of the maitre de 

 cuisine to the contrary, says Dr. Lewis, is unusually 

 insipid, dry, and sedgy, and consequently holds out but 

 slight inducements to the epicurean sportsman to in- 

 terrupt them in their secluded retreats. Descriptions 

 of the different rails, including the little black and yel- 

 low crakes, will be found below. Their comparative 



