110 BIRDS 



YELLOW RAIL 



The Yellow Rail inhabits both eastern and western 

 North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific, ranging 

 north to Hudson Bay and south in winter to the Gulf 

 of Mexico. None of our other rails has a more exten- 

 sive range. Comparatively little is known of this species 

 because of its retiring- habits and small size. They occur 

 in many localities where their presence is not suspected. It 

 is almost impossible to flush the little birds, and unless one 

 is acquainted with their haunts or can hunt them with a 

 good bird dog, little opportunity is afforded the observer 

 to form an acquaintance with it. Grassy tracts along coulees 

 and prairie marshes are the haunts of the yellow crake, 

 which avoids cattails and sluggish water more than do the 

 other rails- 

 One observer was fortunate in discovering a little colony 

 of these birds in North Dakota, and by diligent watching 

 located several pairs and ultimately discovered their nests, 

 which were concealed in thick clumps of grass in open, 

 marshy places. Until these nests were located the eggs of 

 the yellow rail were practically unknown to science. The 

 six or more eggs are among the most beautiful found in 

 North America; the background is a rich cream color, hav- 

 ing a cluster of minute purple and brown specks about the 

 large end. The nest is a loosely constructed affair of grass 

 and weed stems, placed upon the ground within the pro- 

 tecting shadows of bunches of sedges or reeds, often being 

 placed in a tussock of grasses surrounded by water. 



