CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



109 



674. Rallus longirostris obsoletus (Ridg.) Coues. B — c 466a. r sto. 



California Clapper Rail. 



675. Rallus longirostris satviratus Hensh. b — . c — . R 57ia. 



Louisiana Clapper Rail. 



676. Rallus elegans Aud. b 552. c 406. r 669. 



King Rail; Fxesh Marsh lien. 



677. Rallus virginianus L. b 664. c 467. R 672. 



Virginia Rail. 



678. Porzana maruetta (Leach) Bp. b — . c — . R 573. (G.) 



Spotted Crake. 



679. Porzana Carolina (L.) V. b 555. c 408. r 674. 



Carolina Crake ; Rail ; Sora ; Ortolan. 



680. Porzana noveboracensis (Gm.) Cass. B 557. c 469. R 675. 



Yellow Crake. 



681. Porzana jamaicensis (Gra.) Cass. B 650. c *70. R 676. 



Black Crake. 



11 



[utt. 



:, a 



an 



be 



ln)!l. 



r' • 



Iten- 



674. R. 1. 5b-s61-e'-t0s. Lat. obsoklus, obsolete, grown unaccustomed, passed out of vogue ; 



oh, oppositic and soli-sco, I grow accustomed; soleo, I am accustomed. The application 

 is to the faded, as if worn out and disused, coloration. 



Tills is R. elegans var. obsoletus, of the orig. ed., Appendix : see Bull. Nutt. Club, v, 



1880, p. i;)a 



675. R. 1. s5t-fi-ra'-tQs. Lat. satumtiis, saturated, satiated, filled full ; i. e., having eaten 



enough ; salis, enougli : whence satisfied, &c. The allusion is to the color, which is full, 

 «'. c. rich, dark, heavy. 



Not in the orig. ed. ; since described. See Bull. Nutt. Club, v, 1880, p. 140. 



676. R. 6'-lg-gans. Lat. eUijttns or cliijans, elegant ; literally, choice, select ; from e and leijo, I 



pick out; quite equivalent to elirtus, chosen, picked, eclectic, &c. 



677. R. vir-gln-I-a'-nfls. To Virginia, " mother of Presidents," and wet-nurse of Secession. 



678. Por-za'-n5 m5-rfl-et'-ta. Porzana is an Italian word, the meaning of which we know not ; 



it has been in liook-use for several centuries, as the name of some marsh bird. — Mnruetta 

 is likewise Ital.a.i : said to be applicable to anything by the sea, and hence to be equiva- 

 lent to maritimt. — Crake is to crackle, cackle, creak, croak, quack, &,c. ; see Crex, No. 

 683, Querijtwdnhi, .\o. 714. 



Not in the o'ig. ed. Only North American as occurring in Greenland. See Reinh., 

 Ibis, 1801, p. 12. 



679. P. ca-r6-li'-na. To Carolina. This is the rail of sportsmen. It is also called stnra or 



sorec ; why, we know not : the word is colloquial and local, and has scarcely crept into 

 the books. The word "ortolan" has a curious connection with this species. It is 

 Italian and French, equal to the Latin horliilniiiis, relating to a garden: the "ortolan " 

 is Kmlierixa Imrtulana, a bunting, esteemed a great delicacy by gournuinds ; and our 

 crake has been called ortolan for no better reason than that it is also edible and sapid ! 

 The same name is sometimes applied to the bobolink, iJolirhoni/.r ori/:irorus, because it is 

 found abundantly in the same marshes in the fall, and sells in the same restaurants as 

 the same bird as the rail, the two being brought in together by the gunners. 



680. P. n8-ve-bar-5-cen'-sTs. No New York. See Virco, No. 181. 



681. P. jSm-li-I-cen'-sTs. To Jamaica. The namo signifies in the vernacular the island of 



cprings, of flowing water. 



