376 ALECTORIDES. 



lake was nearly dried up, he did not. succeed in finding it, although told by hunters 

 who resort there that at some seasons it is quite abundant. Mr. Boardman informs 

 me that this Eail occasionally occurs in the neighborhood of Calais, and that one 

 siiecimeu was received by him which had been taken in the B,ay of Fundy. He 

 regards its appearance in that section of the country as being a rather uncommon 

 occurrence. It is not known to breed there, and its presence has only been noticed 

 in the fall. It is occasionally noticed also in Massachusetts. A single specimen 

 was taken in Newton by Mr. Maynard, Sept. 8, 18G8, in a dry and open field ; and 

 I am informed by Mr. Purdie that another was jjrocured in the marshes of Canton, 

 Mass., Oct. 15, 1872. 



Mr. Giraud was of opinion, that although the Yellow-breasted Eail is seldom 

 met with on Long Island, it is far from being so rare in that locality as has been sup- 

 posed. Its habit of skulking among the tall grass and reeds which overgrow certain 

 wet and seldom-frefpiented marshes, as well as its unwillingness to take wing, 

 explain its supposed scarcity when actiuilly jiresent in abundance. 



Richardson, although he did not meet with it in the Arctic Eegion himself, and 

 could not learn any particulars in regard to its habits or the extent of its migrations, 

 quotes from the manuscriijt notes of Hutchins a notice of it, written in 1777, men- 

 tioning it as an inhabitant of the marshes on the coast of Hudson's Bay, near the 

 efflux of the River Severn, from the middle of May to the end of September. It 

 never flies, he adds, above sixty yards at a time, but runs with great rapidity among 

 the long grass near tlie shores. In the morning and evening it utters a note which 

 resembles the striking together of a flint and steel. At other times it makes a shriek- 

 ing noise. He also adds — but in this he is evidently misinformed — that it builds 

 no nest, depositing sixteen perfectly white, eggs among the grass. Its eggs are known 

 not to be white, and in Illinois its nest resembles the ordinary loosely constructed 

 one of this family. 



Dr. Cooper writes that he is indebted to Mr. Mathewson for authoritjr to add this 

 species to the fauna of the Pacific coast. The latter obtained several specimens of it 

 at Martinez in autuiim, and afterward other observers met with it in the winter. 

 It seemed to be not uncommon there, and to be a resident species. 



The Prince of Musignano obtained a siiecimen of this bird in the New York 

 market, in February, 1826, and regarded it as an Arctic species. This opinion Mr. 

 Audubon was not inclined to accept, stating it to be a constant resident of Florida, 

 as well as of the lower portion of Louisiana, where he has found it at all seasons ; 

 and he regarded its presence in midwinter near New York as accidental. In the 

 neighborhood of New Orleans it is said to be common in all the deserted savannas 

 covered with thick, long grass, among pools of shallow water. There its sharp and 

 curious notes were heard many times in the course of the day. These sounds come 

 upon the ear so as to induce the listener to believe the bird to be much nearer than 

 it really is. In Florida Audubon found this species even more abundant than it was 

 in Louisiana, and he met with it both on the mainland and on several of the Keys — 

 where, as he states, it begins to breed in March. In the neighborhood of New Or- 

 leans it is said to breed at the same period. Dr. Bachman has found this bird near 

 Charleston, S. C. ; and Mr. Audubon met with it near Vincennes, on the Wabash, in 

 summer, where it had young broods. At Silver Springs, in East Florida, the latter 

 had a good opportunity of observing the habits of this Rail, along the margins of 

 lakes and swampy bayous. He noticed that it followed the margins of the muddy 

 shores with measured steps, imtil, attracted by some object, it would suddenly 

 jerk its tail upward and disappiear for the moment. It was so unsuspicious, that at 



