RALLL'S LOXG1ROSTR1S. 427 



RALLUS LONGIROSTRIS. 



Clapper Rail. 

 Rallui limgiroslris BODD, Tab. PI. enl.; 1784. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sr. Cu. Form, robust. Size, large. Tongue, long, thin, slender, and tapering gradually toward tip which is acutely 

 pointed. 



(' IT.OR. Adult. Above, greenish-brown, becoming purplish on primaries, with the feathers overwashed and edged 

 with ashy. Sides of head, bluish-ash. Line from bill over eye and under surface, pale ashy-red, tinned with bluish on the 

 si<lr- of neck. Sides, flanks, under wing and tail coverts, brown, banded with white. Iris, feet, and bill, brown, the 

 latter, reddish-orange at base. Youny. Similar to the adult but darker above and paler below. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Readily known by the large size and general ashy-blue tinting, especially below. Distributed, in summer, from Mass- 

 achusetts, southward; wintering from the Carolinas to Key West. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of specimens from Eastern North America. Length, 14'UO; stretch, 20-30; wing, 6'00; tail, 

 ji'50: bill. 2'35; tarsus, 2'25. Longest specimen, 14'50; greatest extent of wing, 20'75; longest wing, 6-50; tail, 2 70; bill, 

 2-50; tarsus, 2'50. Shortest specimen, 13'50; smallest extent of wing, 20'00; shortest wing, 5'50; tail, 2-25; bill, 2'25; tarsus, 



2-00. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed on the ground in marshy places, composed of grass, weeds, etc. Eyy*, from eight to ten in number, oval 

 in form, huffy-yellow in color, dotted and spotted irregularly, but sparcely, with reddish-brown and lilac. Dimensions from 

 l-OSxI-GOto 1-15x1-75. 



HABITS. 



The coasts of South Carolina and Georgia are low, and many sounds make into the 

 land, which receive the contents of numerous rivers. Between these sounds, are islands, 

 buck of which are creeks of varying widths, in which the tide rises and falls; while between 

 ilir>c bodies of water and the mainland, are extensive marshes, many miles in width. 

 These level trucfs are scarcely elevated above low water murk, consequently are overflowed 

 by every flood tide, and during the extreme high water that occurs at the Cull of the moon, 

 even the grass tops of all, but some of the more elevated spots, are submerged. As re- 

 marked, these marshes are widely spread, extending from the islands to the westward, as 

 fur as eye can reach, and stretching from the extreme northern confines of the State of 

 South Carolina, quite to Florida. Many aquatic birds find a home in this lonely reach of 

 country, but by fur the most abundant, at all seasons, are the Clapper Rails, and their 

 harsh voices may be heard at all hours of the day and night, as they skulk through the 

 grass or run along the margins of the creeks in search of food. Like all the members of 

 this genus, these Rails are difficult to start, and the only way in which they can be secured 

 in numbers, is to watch the occurrence of a spring tide which, overflowing nearly every- 

 thing, forces the birds to take refuge in the few clumps of grass left uncovered, or they 

 will sit upon the flouting debris and quietly await the fulling of the water. 



The number of these Rails which occur in this section, is simply incalculable, but it is 

 safe to say that they may be counted by millions. If a gun be discharged at night-full, 

 when the birds are most active, the Rails in the immediate vicinity, will utter harsh screams 

 which will be answered by others, and before the echo of the shot has died away, the 

 marsh for miles around, will be resounding with their discordant cries. These Rails have 

 few enemies; it is true, that minks abound in these marshes, and may, occasionally, catch 

 one, and I have frequently seen the Marsh Hawks attempt to capture these birds, but nev- 



