﻿270 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  Family 
  RA.LLIDAE> 
  

  

  Rails, 
  Gallinules 
  and 
  Coots 
  

  

  Size 
  medium 
  to 
  small 
  ; 
  bod\' 
  compressed 
  ; 
  head 
  rather 
  small 
  and 
  narrow 
  ; 
  

   thighs 
  very 
  muscular; 
  legs 
  stout; 
  toes 
  very 
  long, 
  the 
  hallux 
  much 
  longer 
  

   than 
  in 
  Limicolae 
  and 
  lower 
  down; 
  bill 
  not 
  sensitive, 
  short 
  and 
  somewhat 
  

   henlike 
  in 
  the 
  crakes, 
  gallinules 
  and 
  coots, 
  but 
  long 
  and 
  slightly 
  curved 
  

   toward 
  the 
  end 
  in 
  rails 
  proper; 
  nostrils 
  pervious; 
  wings 
  short, 
  rounded 
  

   and 
  feeble 
  ; 
  tail 
  short, 
  of 
  10 
  or 
  12 
  weak 
  feathers 
  ; 
  colors 
  subdued 
  and 
  blended 
  ; 
  

   palate 
  structure 
  schizognathous 
  ; 
  nasals 
  holorhinal; 
  no 
  basipterygoids 
  ; 
  

   ambiens 
  present, 
  also 
  gall 
  bladder, 
  two 
  carotids 
  and 
  long 
  coeca; 
  plumage 
  

   aftershaf 
  ted 
  ; 
  oil 
  gland 
  tufted. 
  

  

  Rails 
  and 
  gallinules 
  are 
  marsh 
  birds, 
  very 
  secretive 
  in 
  habits, 
  keeping 
  

   well 
  under 
  cover 
  of 
  the 
  dense 
  rushes 
  and 
  grasses, 
  except 
  at 
  night 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  

   twilight, 
  when 
  they 
  venture 
  out 
  on 
  the 
  muddy 
  shores. 
  When 
  silently 
  

   floating 
  along 
  the 
  marshy 
  stream, 
  one 
  may 
  often 
  see 
  them 
  standing 
  motion- 
  

   less 
  near 
  their 
  favorite 
  coverts, 
  or 
  walking 
  deliberately 
  along 
  the 
  margin 
  

   flirting 
  their 
  upturned 
  tails 
  and 
  bobbing 
  their 
  necks 
  in 
  henlike 
  fashion. 
  

   Their 
  cries 
  are 
  also 
  loud, 
  and 
  remind 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  different 
  notes 
  of 
  our 
  domestic 
  

   fowl. 
  Consequentl}" 
  all 
  our 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  family, 
  from 
  the 
  Virginia 
  rail 
  to 
  

   the 
  Coot, 
  have 
  received 
  the 
  coiximon 
  name 
  of 
  Mud 
  hens 
  in 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   countr}'. 
  The 
  flight 
  of 
  rails 
  and 
  gallinules 
  is 
  feeble 
  and 
  hesitating. 
  They 
  

   usually 
  take 
  wing 
  as 
  a 
  last 
  resort, 
  and 
  then 
  proceed 
  with 
  dangling 
  legs, 
  

   in 
  a 
  direct 
  course, 
  low 
  over 
  the 
  tops 
  of 
  the 
  rushes, 
  dropping 
  abruptly 
  

   in 
  a 
  few 
  rods 
  amidst 
  the 
  grass, 
  as 
  if 
  exhausted 
  by 
  their 
  unwonted 
  exertion. 
  

   Thev 
  are 
  perfectly 
  at 
  home 
  on 
  the 
  ground, 
  and 
  dart 
  among 
  the 
  dense 
  weeds 
  

   with 
  marked 
  freedom, 
  the 
  long 
  toes 
  keeping 
  them 
  from 
  sinking 
  in 
  the 
  mud 
  

   or 
  submerged 
  vegetation, 
  their 
  thin 
  bodies 
  gliding 
  easily 
  between 
  the 
  reeds. 
  

   The 
  eggs 
  are 
  numerous, 
  oval 
  or 
  elliptical 
  in 
  shape 
  and 
  sparsely 
  spotted; 
  

   the 
  young 
  are 
  precocial. 
  The 
  food 
  consists 
  of 
  all 
  kinds 
  of 
  aquatic 
  animals, 
  

   and 
  the 
  seeds 
  and 
  tender 
  shoots 
  of 
  plants. 
  The 
  family 
  numbers 
  about 
  

   1 
  80 
  members, 
  in 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  world. 
  

  

  This 
  is 
  an 
  ancient 
  family, 
  rich 
  in 
  fossil 
  species, 
  and 
  some 
  insular 
  varieties, 
  

   like 
  the 
  wekas 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand, 
  are 
  entirely 
  flightless. 
  The 
  family 
  in 
  

  

  