674' SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — ALEGTORIBES—BALLIFOBMES. 



and lining of wings, barred with white and Ijlackish ; belly whitish ; crissum rufescent. Adult 

 (J 9 : Face and central line of throat black, the rest of the throat, line over eye, and espe- 

 cially the breast, more or less intensely slate-gray, the sides of the breast usually also Ai-ith 

 some obsolete whitish barring and speckling. Young : Without this black, the throat whitish, 

 the breast brown. Length 8.00-9.00 ; extent 12.00-13.00; wing 4.00-1.50; tail about 2.00; 

 bm 0.67-0.75; tarsus 1.33; middle toe and claw 1.G7. Temperate N. Am., exceedingly 

 abundant during the migration in the reedy swamps of the Atlantic States, in August and 

 September, when tens of thousands are killed every year. Breeds from tlie Middh' States 

 northward : winters in the S. States and beyond. Has occurred in Greenland and Europe. 

 The eggs are spotted just Uke those of the foregoing Malii, but are readily distinguished by 

 their strong drab ground-color instead of the white or creamy and pale huffy of tlie former. 

 They are rather smaller than those of B. virginianus, and perhaps more obtuse, measuring 

 about 1.20 by 0.90. This is the rail of sportsmen. It is also called sora or soree; tire word 

 is colloquial and local. The word "ortolan "has a curious connecti<in with tliis species. 

 It is Italian and French, equal to the Latin hortulanus, relating to a garden : the " ortolan " 

 is Emheriza Twrtulana, a bunting, esteemed a great delicacy by gourmands ; and our crake 

 has been called ortolan for no better reason than that it is also edible and sapid ! The same 

 name is frequently applied to the bobolinli:, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, because it is found abun- 

 dantly in the same marslies in the fall, and sells in the same restaurants as the same bird as 

 the rail, the two being brought in together by the gunners. 



680. P. noveboracen'sis, (Low Lat., of Noveboraaim : i. e., New York.) Y'ellow Crake. 

 YelL(jw Kail. Adult ^J 9 • Above, streaked with blackish and brownish-yellow, thickly 

 marked with narrow white semicircles and transverse bars. Below, pale brownisli-yellow 

 fading on belly, deepest on breast, where many feathers are dark-tipped ; flanks blackisli with 

 numerous white bars ; crissum varied with black, white, and rufous. Lining of wings ^vhite. 

 A brownish-yellow superciliary line, and dark transocular stripe. Small ; about 6.00 long ; 

 wing 3.25; tail 1.50; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.87; middle toe and claw 1.12. Eastern N. Am., 

 not abundant ; N. to Hudson's Bay : winters in the S. States. Does not appear to have been 

 observed in N. England N. of Mass., nor anywhere W. of the IMississippi Valley, Texas to 

 Minnesota ; but it is not common, is very secretive lilve other Kails, and readily eludes obser- 

 vation ; its distribution may be more general tlian it is known to be. Eggs about 6, rich, 

 warm, buffy-brown, marked at the great end with a cluster of reddisli-chocolate dots and 

 spots; 1.15 by 0.85, to 1.05 by 0.80 ; shape as in the foregoing. 



681. P. jamaicen'sis. (Of Jamaica.) Little Black Crake. Adult $ <? : Upper parts 

 blackish, finely speckled and barred with white, the hind neck and fore back dark chestnut. 

 Head and under parts dark slate color, paler or whitening on the throat, the lower belly, 

 flanks, and under wing and taU-coverts barred with white. Quills and tail-feathers \yith 

 white spots. Very small : length about 5.50 ; wing 2.75-3.00 ; tail 1.35 ; tarsus 0.75. S. and 

 C. America and W. I., not often found in the U. S., being one of the rarest of our birds. 

 Observed N. to Mass., W. to Kan., and probably occurs across to the Pacific. Eggs from New 

 Jersey are altogether different from those of the sora, or the yellow cralce, being creamy- 

 white, sprinkled all over witli fine dots of rich, bright reddish-brown, and with a few s]iots of 

 some little size at the great end ; most like the more fuiely-speckled examples of the eggs of 

 the large Ralli ; dimensions 1.05 X 0.80. 



682. P. j. coturni'culus. (Lat. dim. of coiitjm^^, a quail.) Farrallone Black Crake. Like 

 the last; rather smaller, the wing 2.50 ; more uniform in color, the back without white specks. 

 Farrallone Islands, coast of California. 



273. CREX. (Or. Kpe'l, krex, Lat. crex, a crake; refening to the creaking notes.) Land Kails. 

 General character of Porzcma. Wings much longer, fidding nearly to end of tail. Tarsus 

 relatively shorter. Plumage above streaky, but not spotty. 



