366 



alectoridp:s. 





i 



m^ 



to that of tliis species. In Wilson's tinu' it was known as the "Fresh-water .Mnd- 

 hen," because it freijnented only tliost; jiivrts of the salt-marsh where fresli-water 

 springs rose thronj^li the hoi^s in the salt-nuirslics. In sncli places these birds bnild 

 thi'ir lu'sts ; and one ol these, which was .si-en by him, is desc.'ribed as beinj,' placed in 

 the bottom of a tnft of grass in the midst of an ahnost impenetrable (luagniire, and as 

 composed altogether of old wet grass and rnshes. The eggs had been Honted out of 

 the nest by an extraordinarily high tide, and l;iy scattered about. The female still 

 lingered ai)out the sjiot, and suliered herself to be taken by hand, and during the few- 

 hours she was detained hiid an egg exactly like the others. Wilson descril)es tln' 

 o'^in; as being shai)eil like that of the Honn'stic lien, and as nu'asuring l.L'O inches in 

 length by less than half an inch in breadth; it is of a dirty white or pale cri'aiii- 

 color, sprinkled with specks of reddish and i)ale purple, most luunerous near the gretit 

 end. This bird was su^jposed to begin to lay early in May, and to raise two broods 

 in a season, as in the month of .Inly ^Fr. Ord brought to Wilson several young only a 

 few days old, which had been caught on the borders of the Delaware. The parents had 

 shown great solicitude for their safety. The young birds were covered with tine down, 

 and were wholly black, except a white spot on the bill. They had a sliort [liping 

 note. Owing to its secretive habits, this bird can rarely be seen. It stands and runs 

 with its tail erect, which it jerks whenever it nnn'es ; it tties only to a short distance, 

 with its legs hanging down. The moment it alights it runs off with great speed. 



Muttall, who heard the notes of the male of this species on the Charles Jtiver 

 marshes, describes it as a guttural croaking cull, like the noise of a wat(dinian's rattle. 

 sounding like r^^H-^-M^-^W//;. The young have a slender cry oi peejj-jieep ; and tlic 

 fenuile, when startled, utters a sharp squeaking scream, Avhieh seems nuieh neaicr 

 than it really is, and so\iiuls like lceek-l;rr];-l;clc. 



Audubon states that these birds winter in Lower Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, and 

 the Carolinas, remaining in the Western States later in the fall than farther east ; liut 

 a large proportion retire after the first severe frosts. He met with them on the St. 

 John's River, in New Brunswick — where, however, they are very rare; and he also 

 remarks that he found them breeding in ^Eareh near New Orleans ; in Kentucky in 

 April; and a little later iu\ar Vin(!ennes, in Illinois. 



Wilson evidently makes a mistake in regard to the breadth of the egg of this spe- 

 cies, meaning doubtless an inch, and not half an inch. An egg (Xo. 210) in my 

 collection, from Calumet marshes, Illinois, identified by Mr. Eobert Kennicott, 

 measures 1.28 inches in length by .9(5 of an inch in breadth; and two (Xo. 1271) 

 measure each 1.30 inches by exactly 1 inch iu breadth. The ground-color in these 

 is a creaniy white. The markings are generally very nuieh scattered, except about 

 the larger end, where they are crf)wded together, but nowhere continent; these mark- 

 ings are small blotches of a bright brownish red, and there are also slightly larger 

 and fainter ones of a purplish lilac. The markings vary in size in the different eggs. 

 In shape the egg is a rounded oval, one end much more tapering than the other. 'J'iic 

 usual number of its eggs is nine, never more than this, and very rarely less. 



Genus FORZANA, Vieillot. 



Porzana, Vieill. Analyse, 1816, (jl type, liallus porzaiia, Linn. — Cass, in Bnii'd's B. N. \n\. 



1858, 748. 

 OHygometi a. Leach, Syst. Cat. 1810, 34. — Ohay, Oen. B. IIL 1846, 593 (type, Ealhis porzann. 



Linn.). 

 CrcciscHs, Caban. Jour, fiir Orn. IS.IO, 428 (type, Halites jamaiccnsis, Gmel.). 

 Cotiirnici'ps, BoxAi'. " Conipt. licnd. XLIIL 1856, 599" {ty[)e, Fulica HMcboraccnsis, Gmel.). 



