■^ 



356 



ALKCTOHIDES. 



,..„ r^ 



to largiT and dooper jjoikIs in interior swaiMps. It has hut a Hiiijjlc hrood in a Hoason. 

 unli'ss tlic lirst has iM'cn (h'strovcd. lis Hi},'ht is stronj,'('r and more protracted tiiiin 

 that of the rn/ilfmis, hut otiicrwist- rcstMnltlinj,' it. When sud(h'nly Huslicd, it rises 

 and ^iH'H oil' witli a cliinl;, its h'),'s dannlinK, and jn'oeeeds in a straij,dit line lor some 

 distance, after wlneh it drops anions tliieli gras.s and runs oM witii wonch-rful sjioed. 

 Its nund)er is not diniinisiied in winter hy any nii},'ratory movement. 



Mr. .Moore nientinns as a curious fact in the natural liislory of this species, as well 

 as in that td' rfr/tifniis ami rhyhiliniiis, an<l the l'nr:;<mii tiimlhia, that it is almost 

 impossilile to Hush one after the middle of NovendM-r, in localities where durinj,' the 

 two iirevious months a dozen or more mif,dit he put on wiuf,' iu a few hour.s. This 

 hird may then he often heard, hut not seen, as ;it other times, to take wing. 



Two eggs in my coUei-tion (No. To), ohtained in the Cahimet marshes, lUinoi.s, hy 

 Kohert Kennicott. have a grouiid-c(dor of a dead creamy white; they are marked 

 quite sparsely with small spots and Idotches of a prevalent oval sliape, some hein^' dl 

 a purplish-slate color, hnt the larger jiortion heing chirk purplish hrown. Oneei,'^,' 

 measures l.Gi) inches in length hy l.L'l) inches in breadth; the other I.G8 inches hv 

 1.25. 



'» 'i 



RalluB Beldingi. 



BILOIHO'S BAIL. 



Rallita Hrliihigi, Kmow. I'loc. U. S. Nut. Mug. Vol. 6, 1882, 348. 



HAn. Es])iritu Santo Island, (lulfof Calirornia. 



Chah. .Most rosi'iidilinj,' It. itnjiuiii. lait darker and richer colored throii>{hout, the sides iiml 

 Hanks with the white hars imuli narrower, and marked also with very disiiiut bhukisli liars. 

 Size siiialliT. Adult inidf (No. M(i4l!», Kspiritii Santo Islands, Lower Calirornia, Feli. I. l>s:;; 

 L. UKi.nixii); I'ileuni and ui>iier half of nape dark sooty l>rowii or sepia; ground-color of oilur 

 upper parts deep olive-hrown (nnieh as in It. virj/ini'ioiiw — deeiiledly darker than in It. iliijitns), 

 Iiroadly slri|HMl with brownish Mack, ahout as in It. nhmilitmi ; wing-eovert.'» dull cheslniU-lirown, 

 tingcil with olive, the c.xteiior feathci's more rusty ; suiiraloral stripe lijjht cinnamon, the leailn r< 

 white at hast' ; lores, continuous with a liroad stripe hehind the eye, dull grayish hrown ; un^lt r 

 eyelid whitish ; malar rcj^'ion, checks, entire foicneck, ju^'uhun. ami hreast rich ciniianioii. niin li 

 deeper than in any of the allied forms ; chin white, throat nn.xed white and cinnamon, the laiii r 

 on tips of the feathers ; entire sides and Hanks ratln^r dark hair-hiown (le>s olivaceous than u]ipir 

 parts), rather distinctly harred with hlackish and very sharply harreil with ]ture white, the hars nf 

 the latter color aliont .0.'>-,o7 of an ijii'h in width ; lining of wing dark lirown. with very naridw 

 white liars; anterior and middle |i(a'tion of ciissiun marked nmch like ihe Hanks, the lateral .md 

 terminal lower tail-coverts piu'e white. Ri.^al two thirds of the niandilde and posterior ]ioition ni 

 nia.\illary toniium deep orange ; rest of Mil dark horn-hrown, the end of the mandihle jialer ; feet 

 (hirk horn-lirown. 



Wing, .'i.TO inches ; tail, i.M ; culuion, 2.15 ; depth of bill at base, .50 ; in middle, .30 ; tar- 

 sus, l.»2; middle toe, 1.80 



Compared with speeimens of all the allied species and races of the geiuis. the 

 present bird is instantly distinguishable hy the characters p(dnted out above. In 

 iidensity of ccdoration it most m-arly resembles ft. rli't/hiitunin, but, ajjart from its 

 much larger size, jtresents the fcdlowing differences of coloration- the side of tlir 

 liead below the eye is ehietly cinnamon, whereas this portion is in /»'. n'riji'iiHiuiis very 

 distinctly ashy; the hreast, etc., are both dee])er and redder cinnaunm ; the ground- 

 color of the sides and flanks much ])aler (uidform hliiek in h'. r!rf/!iiiinni.s); the hla<k 

 stri])es of the upi)er parts are both narrower and less sharply defined, while the win!,'s 

 are much less rusty. 



