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374 



ALECTORIDES. 



on the ship " Michaol Annelo," duiiiij,' a voyngc from Liverpool, in May, 1851. Tlii' 

 nearest land was Cape !Sal)l(', thvcf hundred miles distant. 



The sensiti.cness of tliis bird to cold, and its immediate departure iij)(»n the tirst 

 severe frost, render its niovemeuts variable, and dependent on the season. It usiiidl\ 

 leaves the Middle States in October, but in favorable seasons remains m\ieh latei'. 

 In 184() the fall was a remarkably mihl one, and the Soras eontinued abundant f>ii 

 the Delaware Hiver until tlie last of Novend)er. 



Captain Uendire mentions this bird as being present in Eastern Oregon during llic 

 breeding-season; but how abundantly he was not able to ascertain. He only iint 

 with it on four occasions. .Mr. tJosse informs me that it breeds in great nunibeis in 

 the wet marslu'S of Wisconsin, that its nest is constructed of dry grasses, and tliat 

 this is sometimes jtartly arched over, but more frequently under broken-down grasses 

 or weeds. The eggs — as he states — are seven or eight in number, and occasionally 

 even more. A nest found in Lynn. Mass., by !Mr. ^loon, contained lune egg.s. and tliis 

 is said to be the common numlu'r. 



Mr. E. AV. Nelson, Avho earefuUy studied the habits of this Kail in Xorthcni 

 Illinois, gives the 1st of Alay as the date of its arrival, and October as that of its 

 departure. He states that it nests along the borders of prairie sloughs and marshes, 

 depositing from eight to fourteen eggs, and that its nest may often be discovered iit 

 a distance by the apjiearance of the svu'rounding grass, the blatles of which are in 

 many eases interwoven over the nest, as if to shield the bird from the tierce rays ot 

 the sun — felt on the marshes with redoubled force. The nests are sometimes built on 

 solitary tussocks growing in the water, but their usual position is in the soft dense 

 grass growing close to the edge of the slough, and rarely in that which is over eiglit 

 inches high. The nest is a thick matted platform of soft marsh-grasses, with a slight 

 depression for the eggs. 



In Wilson's day the history of this Kail was very imperfectly known, and some of 

 the information in regard to its habits accepted by him as true was without doubt 

 incorrect. This is especially the case in that which relates to its breeding, all ot 

 which really had reference to the Virginia Kail, and not to this l)ird. I believe tliat 

 this Kail does not breed anywhere south of the 4l'd ))arallel. and that it is very 

 rare there, excu'pt in the Northwestern States. It breeds from about this i)arallc] to 

 the ()2d, in favorable places, from the Atlantic to the racitii^ coast. The breeding of 

 this bird was not known to Wilson, Audubon, or Nuttall, and the young and eggs 

 referred to by the tirst two belong to another sjiecies ; Dr. r>achman's notice of a 

 nest found on the Hudson has reference, however, to this bird. 



The Sora breeds in fresh-water marshes, on small dry or elevated tussocks, and 

 in the middle of tufts of coarse herbage. Its nest is usually a mere collection of 

 decayed rushes and coarse grass loosely aggregated, and not admitting of removal as 

 a nest. The eggs are from seven to twelve in number. Instead of the creamy-white 

 ground of the Virginia Rail, this egg has one of a light dralwolor. The marking's 

 are spots of a roundish shape, and are all of a uniform dark rufous tint. The form 

 of the egg is also quite different, it being oblong oval, ecpial at either end, and <linci- 

 ing from that oi Halhis virgin lanus in all respects, and in so marked a manner as to 

 l)e at once distinguishable from it. No. 5,%, from Concord, Mass., measures 1.38 by 

 .88 inches, and is remarkably oblong. Two eggs (No. 1272) obtained by Mr. Goss in 

 Minnesota are much more rounded, and have the larger end more obtuse. Thesis 

 measure, one 1.18 by .90 inches, the other 1.15 by .91 inches. 



