16 



BULLETIN 128, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Following are a few records of stragglers beyond the breeding area: 

 Ottawa, Out., May 7, 1896 (White) ; Ottertail County, Minn. (Roberts) ; 

 Falmouth, Me., September 19, 1895 (Brock); Scarborough, Me., 

 October 8, 1881 (Brown); and Vermilion, S. Dak. (Agersborg). 



Winter range. — It can be said in general that the king rail winters 

 in the southern part of the breeding range, and also in southern 

 Louisiana (Beyer) and on the coast of Texas at least as far south as 

 Brownsville (Thayer). There is one record of its occurrence in 

 Mexico, probably as a straggler, at Tlacotalpam, Vera Cruz, January 



18, 1901 (Colburn). 



A remarkable fact in the life history of the king rail is its moving 

 northward on the Atlantic coast after the breeding season and then 

 attempting to winter there. Only a small percentage of the birds 

 perform this northward migration, but there are many records north 

 of their normal winter home in the marshes of South Carolina during 

 the winter: Currituck Sound, 1ST. C, December 14, 1909 (McAtee); 

 Raleigh, N. C, January 23, 1892 (Brimley); Washington, D. C, 

 December 12, 1908, December 16, 1889, December 21, 1892, January 



19, 1901, and February 8, 1887; Stafford, Md., January 28, 1893 



(Kirkwood); Milford, Conn., December 15, 1892 (Verrill); Saybrook, 



Conn., January 14, 1876 (Clark); Newport, R. I., January 21, 1896 



(Howe and Sturtevant); Cambridge, Mass., December 30, 1896 



(Farley); Ellisville, Mass., January 20, 1903 (Reagh); Chatham, 



Mass., December 28, 1908 (Fay); West Barnstable, Mass., December 



30 or 31, 1909 (Howe) ; and Portland, Me., December 17, 1899 (Brook). 



A few far-northern winter records have been reported from the 



interior: Beaver Dam, Wis., December 19, 1906 (Snyder); near 



Port Huron, Mich., December 13, 1902 (Eppinger); Hudson, Mich., 



December 11, 1896 (Boies); Point Pelee, Ont., December 31, 1906 



(Taverner and Swales) ; and South Buffalo, N. Y., December 3, 1897 



(Savage) . 



Spring migration. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 years' 

 records. 



Average 

 date of 

 spring 



arrival. 



Earliest date 

 of spring 

 arrival. 



Raleigh, N. C 



Montauk, N. Y 



Peabody, Mass 



Erie, Pa 



Fayette, Mo 



Chicago, 111 



Rockford, 111 



Terre Haute, Ind. . . 

 New Bremen, Ohio. 

 Oberlin, Ohio...... 



Point Pelee, Ont... 

 Petersburg, Mich.. . 



Keokuk, Iowa 



Grinnell, Iowa 



Heron Lake, Minn . . 



Emporia, Kans 



Onaga, Kans: 



Falls City, Nebr. . . . 



Apr. 21 



Apr. 26 

 May "l 



Apr. 22 

 May 7 



Feb. 



Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 May 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 

 Apr. 



8, 1887 

 3,1887 



13. 1908 

 17, 1902 



2, 1887 

 10, 1S87 



3, 1887 

 24,18SS 



19. 1909 

 4, 1908 



22, 1908 



20, 1886 



10, 1894 



5, 188.9 



22. 1890 

 14,1885 



23. 1891 

 13, 1889 



