188 THE RAIL. 



This bird is known by several names, such as Mud 

 Hen, Meadow Clapper, Meadow Hen, and Big Rail. 



The Clapper Rail migrates to the south on the' ap- 

 proach of winter, and returns again to the shores of 

 New England in the months of April and May. The 

 arrival of this bird, is soon known to those who live 

 in the vicinity of salt marshes, as they announce it by 

 a loud, harsh kind of cackling, somewhat resembling 

 the noise made by the Guinea hen. This noise they 

 make chiefly during the evening. 



These birds build their nests on the ground, among 

 the high grass, or sedge, which grows on salt marshes. 

 They are constructed with much labour for so small a 

 bird, being generally raised a foot or more from the 

 ground, probably for the purpose of avoiding the rising 

 of the tide. Over the nest, the top of the grass is 

 drawn together, and the leaves woven in such a man- 

 ner as to produce a kind of arch. The bird, in this 

 instance, seems to have mistaken her instinct, for in 

 building this arch to protect her nest from the crow 

 and hawk, she sets up a mark by which it can be 

 found by men at a considerable distance, and men are 

 by far her greatest enemies. For the eggs of this 

 bird are of so fine a flavour as to be preferred to all 

 others ; and people w r ho live in the vicinity of salt 

 marshes, make it a kind of business to collect them ; 

 and it is said that a single man will sometimes collect 

 a hundred dozen in a day. 



The Clapper Rail does not readily take wing and 

 escape, like most other birds, but when pursued by 

 the hunter or his dog, runs through the grass, winding 

 its wav like a mouse ; so that even when its wing is 



