NORTH AMERICAN RAILS AND THEIR ALLIES. 39 



to La Barca, Jalisco (Goldman). Throughout this great region it 

 seems to be either resident or so slightly migrant that its movements 

 can not be traced. 



To the northward it has occurred a few times in Bermuda — May 30 

 and October 22, 1851 (Hurdis); and in the Bahamas, according to 

 Bonhote, has been taken at Cay Lobos, October 19, 1900, Cay Sal, 

 April 24, 1901, and February 9, 1902, and Mangrove Cay, December 

 16, 1901. It is resident in Florida and thence along the Gulf coast to 

 Texas and eastern Mexico. Along the Atlantic coast it nests regu- 

 larly north to Charleston, S. C. (Wayne), but withdraws in winter to 

 Florida, where it is known at this season north to Tallahassee (Wil- 

 liams). It breeds up the Mississippi River to Natchez, Miss. (Audu- 

 bon), but seems to retire to the Gulf coast for the winter. 



The purple gallinule is a great wanderer and has been taken in the 

 spring at Rockport, Mass., April 12, 1875 (Whitman); Randolph, 

 Mass., May 24, 1904 (Thayer); South Lewiston, Me., April 11, 1897 

 (Knight); near St. John, N. B., April 6, 1881 (Brewster); Halifax, 

 N. S., April, 1889 (Piers) ; St. Charles, Mo., April 22, 1877 (Widmann) ; 

 in Illinois near St. Louis, Mo., April 18, 1877 (Allen); Coal City, 111., 

 April 24, 1900 (Deane); Willington, 111., April 26, 1909 (Deane); near 

 Chicago, 111., May, 1866 (Nelson); Sandusky, Ohio, April 28, 1896 

 (Moseley); near Toronto, Ont., April 8, 1892 (Nash); Janesville, 

 Racine, and Milwaukee, Wis. (Kumlien and Hollister); Blackhawk, 

 Iowa (Peck); Huntsville, Tex., April 26, 1909 (Thomason); Manhat- 

 tan, Kans., April 14, 1893 (Lantz); Westpoint, Nebr. (Bruner); 

 Tombstone, Ariz., June, 1904 (Willard); and Florence, Colo., June 17, 

 1911 (Doertenbach). 



The latest dates in the fall north of the breeding grounds are at 

 Quebec City, Canada, middle of September, 1909 (Dionne); Mount 

 Desert Island, Me., November 7, 1899 (Swain); Stoneham, Mass., 

 November 27, 1837 (Peabody); Sandusky, Ohio, September 2, 1894 

 (Tuttle); Waverly, Ohio, November 16, 1898 (Henninger); Freder- 

 icksburg, Tex., September 18, 1894 (Grasso); and Tucson, Ariz., 

 October 20, 1887 (Brown). There are also the strange records of 

 single birds found at Halifax, N. S., January 30, 1870 (Jones), and 

 January 16, 1896 (Piers). 



At the southern limit of the purple gallinule's range in Brazil the 

 eggs are laid in November (Euler), and at Santiago del Estero, 

 Argentina, a set was taken December 28, 1905 (Hartert and Venturi) ; 

 in Cuba eggs are found most commonly in June and July (Gundlach) ; 

 while in the United States the breeding season is long extended, since 

 eggs are in the U. S. National Museum, collected at Avery, La., April 

 15, 1894, while downy young were taken at Yemassee, S. C, Septem- 

 ber 17, 1887 (Wayne). 



