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having been able to find any mention of it in the works on

foreign birds at my disposal, which, by the way, are few.


In size the Pectoral Rail about equals our handrail; the

beak is, however, slightly longer and more pointed.


The prevailing colour is brown, prettily speckled with

white, underparts striped black and white. There is a band of

light-brown on the breast, and a streak of white passes over the

eye to the back of the head.


When viewed closely this Rail is decidedly handsome, its

striped and speckled plumage being very pleasing.


It can run very fast indeed, but very seldom flies. It loves

shallow water in which it can wade and bathe, but will not take

to deep water unless compelled to do so, although able to swim

well. In one of my aviaries there is a pond of about a foot in

depth, and when first the Rails came into my possession I was

anxious to see if they were good swimmers, so I placed a piece

of wire netting in such a way as to prevent their reaching the

opposite side of the aviary without crossing the pond, I then

drove them towards it, but, after trying in vain to find some way

round, they simply flew over. However, the next time I placed

another piece of netting but a few inches above the surface of

the water, so that the birds would have to swim to get under it,

so, finding themselves compelled to do so, they both took to the

water and swam across, just as a Moorhen would have done.

The reluctance with which this species takes to deep water seems

to show that it is more closely allied to Crex pratensis than to

Ralhis aquaticus. Their food consists of chopped raw meat

and bread crumbs, varied with eggs and bread crumbs, scalded

cockroaches, worms, slugs, snails, and numerous other insects,

which they find for themselves in the outer portion of their

aviary. They also peck up a good deal of seed that the other

inmates of the aviary throw down.


One, the smallest, and probably the male, is quite tame,

and will readily pick up mealworms or cockroaches tossed to it,

but the larger of the two is somewhat sh)^.


I am in hopes that they may breed in the spring, but I

fear it is doubtful.


This species, in common, I believe, with all the Rails, has

the peculiar habit, so noticeable in the Moorhen, of jerking the

tail at almost every step.


It would not be wise to keep a bird like this, with so

strong a beak and with a partiality for raw meat, in a small

aviary in which there were very small birds, but, given plenty of



