DELAWARE VALLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 23 



others will exhibit various stages of incubation. In a set of 

 eleven they varied from a condition of freshness to that of being 

 nearly full developed. Sets of the Virginia show some variation 

 in development, but not to so marked a degree. Each species 

 seems to be fairly uniform in its nesting habits, so that there is 

 little difl&culty in distinguishing them. 



May 28th to May 30th is the period when the majority of 

 both species possess fresh eggs, but it may be noticed from the 

 dates given above, that nidification must begin in some instances 

 as early as May 10th, hardly a week after the arrival of the 

 birds. Like the Clapper Rail and the Florida Gallinule, both 

 these species exhibit a tendency to construct sham nests, as a 

 large number are never finished nor laid in. Both species are 

 solicitous when their homes are threatened and they have some 

 reason to be, for they have a few enemies. Crows destroy some 

 sets, large Snapping Turtles in the deeper portions raid others, 

 and probably the Muskrats take their share at times. On the 

 whole, however, their natural enemies are few in number. 



As I sit here writing, the memories of these bygone trips 

 come over me, and once again I seem to be travelling muddy 

 areas in search of things ornithological. Poor this swamp is in 

 external appearance, but unusually rich in feathered inhabi- 

 tants, so that for me it has an attraction and a lure that increases 

 in power as the spring days approach. Soon I shall be drawn 

 irresistibly and once more will be watching the warblers in the 

 willows and listening to the rattling call of the Virginia Rail in 

 the old Center Furnace Swamp. 



