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370 ALKCTUUIDKS. 



r^orzana Carolina. 



THE CAROLINA BAIL; 80RA RAIL. 



Jialliin airoliuii.i, Us\. H. N. I. cd. Id, I. 17.18, If.:) ; rd. V>, I. 17(10, 203. —Sw. i Ukjii. !•'. 15. A 

 II. isyi, 4ii;!. — .\ii>. (»ni. Ilio;,'. III. l.s:).'i, li.'.l ; V. l,s;i!t, i,7->, pi. -J.):). 



A'"//».v {Cirr) niruliiiin, UciNAl'. Olis. Wils, IMlM, Ho. '^3(1. - NllT. .Mall. 11. Ks:i I, '2W. 



Oi'tijgDiniti-ii oint/iiiii, Uns.w. ('miip. list, 1838, 53. — Aiii. Syiiop. 183U, 21;! ; II. .\iii. V. 181-2, 1 1.', 



]il. 3(10. 

 Por-Miui caroliiiii, ("a.ss. in Uniid's H. N. Am. IH'jS, 7-41*. — H.vuiii, fat. X. Am. 15. 185'.t, no. ri,"."). — 



C(iri:s, Ki.y, 1^72, 273 ; Clicck List, 1S73, no. Ids ; 2(1 cd. 1.S82, no. 07!'; liiids N. W. 1871, 



638. — liiiKiw. Nom. N. Am. II. 1H81, no. 57-1. 

 JialluH stiiliiliiii, ViKit.i,. Kiif. iMi'tli. 1823, 1071. 



Had. TIk; wIidIi' of ti'iuiiuratt! Xortli AniL'iicii, Ixit most coiiinu)!! in tlu' L^ilsIltii ProvincL' ; 

 West IndiL's ill j,'cU('nil ; wlmli! of MidiUf AiiK'iioa, soiitli to New (Jraiiaila and Wiiuziiela ; uci'i- 

 dfiital ill GiueiiliUiil and Eur()iJ(; ; liuriniidas (nuiueruuH in mii,'i'atiuiis), Bii;i:d» uhiuliy in tbi; 

 nurtliern part of its raii),'L'. 



Sp, f'HAii. Aihilf : Aljovf, lirij,'lit olivf-lirown, witli lonj^itudinal spots of lilai.k, sonio of tin; 

 feuthors fd^ud witli wliito ; top of hoad with a liroail lon^'itiidinal stiipo of Idack j iiiitcvior por- 

 tion of head, with chin and throut, black ; sides of licad and neck (e.vcupt as dcscril)c<l), jii^'M- 

 luiu, and breast light plumbeous ; abdomen white ; anal ic^'ion and cri.ssum creamy white or pale 



* '. 



buff ; flanks .sharply barred with white and slate-color. Young : Similar, but lores and superciliary 

 stripe brownish, the chin and throat whitish ; rest of neck, with Ju>;ulum and breast, li;,'lit brown- 

 ish. Bill <;reenish yellow (more oranye, especially at base, in summer adults) ; iris bnnvn ; le;;., 

 and feet greenish. "JJuintij staijn — chick a few days cdd : Bill short, e.vceedingly com]))essed, lii^li 

 at base, rapidly tapering, the tip deflected. The whole body densely covered with dull black 

 clown, beyond whicli are produced abundant long, glossy, black hair-like filaments. Upon tlie 

 throat is a tuft of stiff, coarse bristle-like feathers of a bright orange-c(dor. These are directed 

 forward, and give the bird a most singular appearance. (From a specimen in my cabinet collected 

 at Cambridge, Mass., June 21, 1874.) This liird, although the only specimen of the kin<l now at 

 band, is one of a large brood which was attended by the female parent. Several of the otlnr> 

 were distinctly seen and closely examined at the time. All had a similar orange tuft upon llic 

 throat." [Bhkwster, in " Bull. Xutt. Orn. Club," January, 1879, p. 48.] 



The most abundant and most univei'.sally known bird of its genus inhabiting the United States, 

 and variously known as "the Rail," "Sora," or "Ortolan," according to locality. It is especially 

 numerous along the creeks and rivers on the Atlantic during the autumnal migration, when exclu- 

 sions for obtaining it are a favorite amusement of our guimera and spoi'tsmen. It a]ipears to inhabit 

 the entire temperate regions of North America. There is apparently little, if any. geographical 

 variation noticeable in a large series of specimens, and the jirincipal individual variation consists 

 in the extent of the black on the throat, which in some examples extends back as far as the middle 

 of the abdomen. 



The Common Sora Kail, so abundant in the eastern portion of tlie IMidiUe States 

 during its migrations, and so familiar to all the sportsmen of the Delaware, ajipears 



