BIRDS OF THE NORTHERN STATES 289 
cry of the male, cut, cutta, cutia, cutta, may be heard after sunset or even 
at night. It is beautifully colored. Upper parts grayish brown, the 
feathers on the back having blackish cen- 
ters; throat white, rest of under parts 
reddish. S.R. 
214 Sora. Carolina Rail. Length 8% 
inches. : 
These are the Rails whose loud whistled 
ker-wee and penetrating whinny we often 
hear afternoons and evenings in marshy 
places. But we can seldom get sight of 
the birds themselves; they skulk among 
the rushes and grasses. In autumn they 
stray away from their haunts, even into 
towns; then many of them lose their lives, 
and dead specimens are thus found. Upper parts olive brown, with 
dashes of black and fine whitish lines; forehead and throat black; and 
under parts slaty gray, changing to white near the tail, the flanks 
being barred with black and white. Common S.R. 
VIRGINIA RAIL 
Sora AMERICAN Coot WILSON PHALAROPE 
221 American Coot. Mud-hen. Length 15 inches. 
Often associated on the water with ducks and looks more or less like 
them, though it is darker and smaller than most ducks. May easily be 
distinguished by the bobbing motion it makes with its head when swim- 
