THS 



BOTANIST. 



Vol. I. 



BINGHAMTON, N. Y., OCTOBER 1, 1891. 



iSTo. X. 



NOTES ON THE VIRGINIA RAIL. 



BY B. S. BOWDISH, PHELPS, N. Y. 



On the 3nd of June of the present year, 

 I had the pleasure of going into camp, 

 with others, in the marshes near Cayuga 

 for the purpose of ornithological col- 

 lecting and observation. Among the 

 birds that appeared conspicuous from 

 the first was the Virginia rail. It was 

 there more common than I have ever 

 found it elsewhere. 



Our first acquaintance with the fact 

 of its presence was a male bird shot 

 while feeding on the river bank, soon 

 after our arrival. The next day while 

 strolling with my gun near the same 

 spot, another bird suddenly started from 

 under my feet. I was about to shoot 

 her when I discovered that she was ac- 

 companied by a young- bird. Turning 

 my attention to this new arrival, I soon 

 captured it, and a most comical little 

 specimen it was. About half the size of 

 a newly hatched chicken, of which it 

 appeared the minature, it was covered 

 with a velvety black down, the feet and 

 legs being also black. The glistening 

 black eyes shone from their dusky sur- 

 roundings like two little black stars. 

 -The beak, unlike that of the parent bird, 

 was not long but much like that of a 

 chicken. 



We camped on a narrow neck of land 

 lying between the marsh on one side 

 and the escape from Cayuga canal — 

 which we termed the ' ' river " — on the 

 other. On the opposite side of this es- 

 cape the marsh stretched away for miles 

 along the lake, unbroken save bv the 



railroad a few rods from the '' river." 

 On the other side the mSrsh extended 

 to the lake about a quarter of a mile dis- 

 tant. We had taken up our abode in 

 the very haunt of the marsh birds and 

 being there at all hours, an opportunity 

 for observing their habits was afforded 

 us which we might not otherwise secur- 

 ed. The narrow strip of marsh that 

 lay beyond the escape, between it and the 

 railroad, seemed to be a favorite haunt 

 of the rail, and it was here that all of 

 the nests which we examined were sit- 

 uated, although the birds were breeding 

 commonly throughout the marsh. The 

 banks of the escape formed a favorite 

 feeding ground and to this the young 

 were conducted by one of the parents 

 as fast as hatched while the other par- 

 ent continued to incubate. 



From our observations it would seem 

 that the eggs hatched in the same order 

 as laid, one each day. In the case of 

 the brood, of which the above mention- 

 ed young one was the first, they seemed 

 to grow in numbers at this rate of in- 

 crease. In the eggs taken the incuba- 

 tion varied from fresh to ready to hatch. 



The parent birds frequently crossed 

 the " river," although it seemed a sevei-e 

 task on their feeble powers of flight, 

 and they dropped on the bank exhaust- 

 ed. In crossing, their feet often dragged 

 in the water, and their flight was pain- 

 fully labored. One day my companion 

 called me from the tent to see one of 

 the young which had fallen into the 

 water and was seemingly struggling to 

 keep on top. Taking the boat I soon 

 had him safely landed near his mother, 



