RAILS, GALLINULES, AND COOTS 231 



garious, but are generally associated through a community of interests; 

 Coots, however, are usually found in flocks. Rails inhabit grassy 

 marshes, in which they seek safety by running or hiding, taking to 

 wing, when pursued, only as a last resort. Their large, strong legs, 

 therefore, have been developed at the expense of their weak, rounded 

 wings. In several island species, this degeneracy of wing has been carried 

 to such an extreme that the birds have lost the power of flight. At the 

 best, their flight when flushed is short and labored, and with dangling 

 legs they soon drop back into cover. Nevertheless, they perform 

 extended migrations, traveling hundreds of miles without resting. 



Gallinules live near the marshy borders of bodies of water, while 

 the more aquatic Coots resemble some Ducks in habits. They are at 

 times noisy birds and are more often heard than seen. All the forms 

 nest on the ground, laying generally large sets of eggs, and the young 

 are born covered with (usually black) down and can run soon after 

 hatching. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES 



I. Bill over 1-75. 



A. Cheeks below the eye einnamon-rufous, like the breast; flanks black 



barred with white; upperparts rich olive-brown streaked with black. 



208. KING RAIL. 



B. Cheek below the eye gray; flanks generally gray or brownish, barred 



with white; upperparts generally grayish, streaked with black. 



211. CLAPPER RAIL and races. 

 II. Bill under 1'75. 



A. Wing over 6'00. 



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



6. General color slaty, feet dark greenish. 



6 1 . Toes with large scalloped webs or flaps at the side . . . 221. COOT. 



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



B. Wing under 6'00. 



a. Wing under 3'50. 



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

 a 2 . Back blackish, barred with white and margined with buffy. 



215. YELLOW RAIL. 



b. Wing over 3 '50. 



b l . Bill over I'OO 212. VIRGINIA RAIL. 



c 1 . Bill under I'OO. 



c 2 . 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 Aud. KING RAIL. Ads. Upperparts varying 

 from olive-brown to black, the back and scapulars widely margined 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. E. N. Am. Breeds from Nebr., s. Minn., Ont., N. Y., and Conn. 

 s. to Tex., Fla., and Cuba; winters mainly in the s. part of its breeding 

 range. 



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

 Cambridge, casual. N. Ohio, not common S. R., May 1-Sept. 5. Glen 

 Ellyn, common S. R., Apl. 19-Sept. 16. SE. Minn., uncommon S. R., Apl. 15. 



Nest, of grasses, on the ground in fresh-water marshes. Eggs, 7-12, 

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



