112 BIRDS 



FLORIDA GALLINULE 



The Florida Galllnule, or Rice-hen, has a more exten- 

 sive range than the name would indicate. While many of 

 these birds remain in the Atlantic and Gulf States during 

 the summer, the bird is found as far north as Massachusetts 

 and Maine and westward along the Canadian border to 

 Minnesota, In the Middle States west of the Mississippi 

 River their appearance is somewhat erratic, though they 

 abound in certain localities in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and 

 Illinois. The Calumet region, near Chicago, is a favorite 

 summer home. They show a preference for stagnant water 

 surrounded by cattails and bulrushes. 



Gallinules sometimes appear as a "connecting link" 

 between rails and coots. I have observed the king, sora, 

 and Virginia rails, with the coot, nesting near to gallinules, 

 and noted a striking resemblance between the gallinules and 

 some rails; for instance, the sora, with its compi*essed body 

 and widespread toes, always reminds me of a small galli- 

 nule. Both swim about among the rushes, and I noticed 

 that one sora deposited her eggs in a gallinule's nest. 



Like the coot, the gallinule often breeds in colonies. 

 Some nests are built in clumps of dead rushes and float 

 upon the water in a manner similar to that of a grebe. Other 

 nests are suspended a foot or two above the water, and are 

 handsomely woven with blades of grass and rushes. When 

 the nest is completed a pathway is constructed of the same 

 material that is used in building the nest proper, and forms 

 a runway extending from the nest into the water. This is a 



