153 



THE OOLOGIST, 



insulas, is the Ortolan or SoraRail; also 

 known as the Carolina Rail, and some- 

 times called the Crake. It is found 

 about sluggish waters, sloughs and the 

 edges of marsh-bordered lakes, where it 

 may be taken from April until late 

 October. In a general way the habits 

 of this species are similar to the other 

 species of Rails. 



The nest is frequently placed in such 

 low situations that an inundation some- 

 times submerges the eggs. If the eggs 

 are only partially covered with water, 

 the old birds— both of whom incubate — 

 stick to the ship and cargo. It is no 

 unusal thing to flush a bird from a nest- 

 ful of partially submerged eggs and 

 find them warm to the touch, although 

 the marsh water indicated a tempera- 

 ture not greater than 66 degrees Fah- 

 renheit. What must be the reasoning 

 powers of this bird whose temperature 

 registers 100 dregees, if equal to most 

 birds; or what the blind incentive which 

 impells it to patiently sit and wait for 

 the appearance of the downy progeny? 

 How do the eggs hatch when the tem- 

 perature of the water in which the nest 

 is floating about and which touches the 

 eggs, is not over 70 degrees, and the 

 surrounding aerial temperature is only 

 80 degrees in the day time and often 30 

 to 30 degrees lower at night? That 

 many submerged eggs are deserted each 

 year is well known, although many 

 birds are bound to stay and sit if the 

 eggs are above water; and, the farther 

 advanced in incubation a set has be- 

 come, the stronger the parent birds are 

 impelled to remain and perform their 

 instinctive duty. I have often met with 

 partially submerged nests which con- 

 tained live embryos, and which later 

 produce young from sets which are par- 

 tially under water. I have also found 

 this condition in the nest of the Pied- 

 billed Grebe, better known as the Hell- 

 diver or dabchick, and have known the 

 Loon to sit on eggs which lay in over 

 half an inch of water. 



The nest of this species is sometimes 

 quite like that of the Virginia Rail, but 

 is generally composed of coarser mater- 

 ials, and I believe is usually of firmer 

 construction. The average number of 

 eggs is nine or ten. Some sets contain 

 but seven eggs, while eleven is the larg- 

 est number I have found in examining 

 scores of nests. A friend of mine secur- 

 ed fourteen from one nest. Some claim 

 to have found twenty eggs in a nest, but 

 any case of that number was undoubt- 

 edly an instance of two hens laying in 

 the same nest. The Sora has the un- 

 usual habit of incubating the eggs as soon 

 as they are laid, or nearly so, and I 

 know of but one observation where the 

 eggs (seven in number, in this instance) 

 were all fresh at one time. The laying 

 and incubation being contermin- 

 ous, or nearly so, it fohows that the 

 emerging of the young occupies several 

 days. I have found several eggs in a 

 nest, one or two of which were within 

 a week of being fresh, others in various 

 stages; while a young bird just emerged 

 was resting in the nest, and another a 

 day or two older was running around 

 among the rushes. The Florida Galli- 

 nule also has this peculiarity in laying 

 and incubating conterminously, though 

 to a less extent; but the others of the 

 Michigan Rails are all regular in their 

 habits, according to our accepted ideas. 

 Of the American birds with which I am 

 acquainted, there are two other species 

 which possess this peculiarity, and the 

 habit is not regular with these. I refer 

 to the Black-billed and Yellow- billed 

 Cuckoos, two species widely removed 

 from those spoken of above. The two 

 or three eggs of the Cuckoo, which are 

 in a set often varied from four to seven 

 days in hatching, but this variation does 

 not always occur, as I have known all 

 of the young to emerge about the same 

 day. 



It is but natural to suppose that the 

 male Carolina Rail assists in the care of 

 the young as the mother sets and brings 



