MARSH BIRDS i07 



in the marshes from the Carolinas to Florida, and has lately 

 been found breeding on the coast of Louisiana, on the Gulf 

 of Mexico. The clapjier rail arrives on the southeastern 

 coast of New Jersey about the last of April, its presence 

 being made known by harsh cries at early dawn and at sun- 

 set. Nest-building is commenced in the latter part of JNIay, 

 and by the first of June the full complement of eggs is laid, 

 ranging, says Davie, from six to nine or ten in number, 

 thirteen being the probable limit. Farther south the bird 

 is known to lay as many as fifteen. On Cobb's Island, 

 Virginia, the clapper breeds in great numbers, carefully 

 concealing the nest in high grass. The color of the eggs is 

 pale buffy-yellow, dotted and spotted with reddish-brown 

 and pale lilac, with an average size of 1.72x1.20, but there 

 is a great variation in this respect in a large series. 



At the nesting season the rails are the noisiest of birds; 

 their long, rolling cry is taken up and repeated by each 

 member of the community. The thin bodies of the birds 

 often measure no more than an inch and a quarter through 

 the breast. "As thin as a rail " is a well-founded, illustrative 

 expression. 



The rail can swm fairly well, but not fast. Its wings 

 are short but useful, and it is so swift-footed that dogs chase 

 it in vain. 



THE MRGINIA RAIL* 



This miniature of king rail is found throughout the 

 whole of temperate North America, as far as the British 

 provinces, south to Guatemala and Cuba, and winters 

 almost to the northern limit of its range. Other names 



