RALLIDvE — THK RAILS — PORZANA. 



377 



times he could iipproaeli it within a few yards, when it woidd only rise more erect, gaze 

 at him for a uujmeiit, and then resume its oeeujjation. lie was told that the best way 

 til ol)tain a shot at tliis l)iril is to lie coueealeil near an ojiening, and (!all it out of cover 

 liv imitating its notes ; when, being very pugnacious, it comes to the open s]iaee and is 

 easily shot. Its Hesli is said t(j lie delicate and savory, its Hight is described as being 

 swift, and more protracteil tliau that of most of the Kails. 



Mr. Audid)on describes tiie nest of this bird as being similar to that of llalhis 

 i/i'ijuns ; but as he mentions that tiio eggs an; white, and that the nt st resembles that 

 of the Common (^hiail, we cannot receive his account as altogether reliable. 



Dr. James Trudeau, as ([uoted by ^fr. Audubon, states that this Kail winters in 

 till' Southern States, arriving in Louisiana about the eud of October or the beginning 

 of Novend)er, and that it is common in marsluts in the vicinity of woods. It is with 

 (lilficidty forc'cd to fly, and even when ]Mirsued by a dog it will only rise when ai)par- 

 ciitly just on the point of being caught. Sonu' of this species nest in Louisiana; 

 others migrate* northward about the beginning of March. Dr. Tnidcau has seen them 

 ill Salem, X. J., about tlie end of Ajiril, a few remaining there. 



^Ir. Xuttall mentions that in the nu-adows of AVest Cambridge, Mass., and in 

 (itiicr w(*t marsh-lands rartdy visittnl by man, lu* has occasionally nu't with this bird. 

 One was brought to him hite in autumn that had been surprised while feeding on 

 insects by the margin of a small pool overgrown with the leaves of the water-lily ; 

 without attempting either to swim or to fly, it darted nimbly over the floating leaves. 

 W'iien wounih'd it can swim and dive witli great skill. "Sir. Ives informed Mr. Xuttall 

 tliat it is frequently nu't with, in the fall, in the marshes in the vicinity of .Salem, 

 Mass. Mr. X'uttall also mentions that, having spent the night of Oct. (!. l.S.'Jl, in a 

 lodge on the borders of I'resh Pond, he heard, about sunrise, the i'ellow-ljreasted 

 Kails begin to stir among the reeds. As soon as awake, they called out, in an abrupt 

 and cackling cry, h-rik-Icrel; kreh, kre/:, ktik Ic'kh. This note, apiiarently from young 

 birds, was answered in a lower and soothing tone. These uncouth and guttural notes 

 resembled in sound the croaking of the tree-frog. These birds were 2'i'<'hably a 

 migrating brood from the north. I>y the first of X'ovember this ea"kliug ceases, and 

 ill all probability the whole liave jiassed fartlier south. 



Three eggs in the Smithsonian Collection (\o. "OoT). from Winnebago, in X'orth- 

 crii Illinois, measure respectively, l.OS inches by .80, 1.12 l)y .S2, 1.12 l)y .80. They 

 aic of oval shape, one end slightly more tapering than the other. Their ground-(!olor 

 is a very deep buff, and one set of markings — which are almost entirely confined to 

 tlie larger end — consists of Idotehes of pale diluted jmrplish brown; these are over- 

 lain liy a dense sprinkling of tine dottings of a rusty lirown. 



Porzana jamaicensis. 



THE LITTLE BLACK BAIL. 



a. jamaicensis. 



Rail ns jamaicensis, Gmei,. .S. N. I. ii. 17S8, 718 - Am. Om. Bio;;. IV. 1838, S.'JO, pi. 349. 

 Ortiiijomdra jumuiccHsis, " .Sria'UKS's, .Sliaw's (Icii. Zool." — Am. Synoii. 1839, 214; Ii. Am. V. 



1842, 157, 1)1. 308. 

 Pui-Miui Jaiwdcaisis, ('.\ss. in liniiil's 15. X. .\iii. IS.'iS, 749. — RaiiM), Cat. N. Am. B. 18.59, no. 556. 



— Coi;i;s, Key, 1872, 247 ; C'lierk I,ist, 1873, no. 470 ; 2a (.-d. 1882, no. flSl ; Birds N. \V. 1874, 



539. — ItiiKiw. Xoni. X. Am. B. 18S1, no. 576. 

 Cre,cj)i/gma:ii, Black wia.L, Bivw.sti'i's .(oui-. VI. 1832, 77. 

 Orlij(jometm chilnisis, Boxap. Coiniit. HiMid. .XI, III. 599. 

 ItiiHus salinusi, PrriLiri'i, Wiogm. Ardiiv, 1867, 262. 

 •' Oallinula salinasi, PlilL. Cut. 1869, 38." 

 VOL. I. — 48 



