200 
N£STS AND EGGS OF 
feeding less upon vegetable, but more upon animal, diet than any of its 
illustrious congeners. Its bill of fare consists of worms, the larvse of 
insects, and small shell-fish, which it extracts from the mud, a feat which 
it most successfully and adroitly accom]3lishes by means of its great length 
of bill. This strong partiality to animal diet tends to render its fiesh less 
savory than that of the Carolina Rail whose food is principally the nutri- 
tious seeds of various kinds of grasses. In the dexterity with which it 
conceals itself among the reeds and sedges of its favorite haunts when 
hunted, and its seeming aversion to flight, it is the exact counterpart of 
the latter species. In fact there are few traits of character which are not 
common to them both. When distance intervenes between the observer 
and either s]3ecies, it requires considerable judgment to make the necessary 
discrimination. A little experience, however, soon enables the working 
naturalist to do so without much difficulty. 
While chiefly diurnal in habits, there is good reason for believing 
all Rails to be partially nocturnal, especially during moonlight nights. 
At such times they are on the qui vive, and from the tall, motionless 
bullrushes and reeds among which they harbor, the ear of the nightly 
pedestrian is startled by the peculiar notes of these birds as they j^wrsue 
their gastronomic occupations, securely hidden from view by interlacing 
grasses. The movements of these birds would hardly enable you to locate 
their presence, so noiselessly are they executed. It is to the loud, lusty 
crik-crik-rik-k-h-k of some wide-awake fellow as he patrols his favorite 
marshes that we are apprised of his whereabouts and presence. Instantly 
the strain is taken up first by one and then another, until the very reeds 
shake and tremble, as it were, under the impulsive influence. A silence 
then ensues, which is unbroken save by the heavy croaking of some dis- 
consolate frog as he tunes his pipe to the shrill falsetto of a love-lorn 
cricket. But the time thus spent is comparatively short. Other consider- 
ations demand attention. Scarcely two weeks from the time of their arri- 
val, the males seek out their partners, pledge their troth anew, and lead 
the way into some bog or morass, where they are not long in making a 
