Rail-shooting 275 



haunts, make it difficult to secure. The king rail 

 breeds in the marshes it frequents, building a nest 

 of withered reeds and grasses to a height of six 

 inches or more from the ground. Eight to ten 

 eggs are laid, and in the South incubation is begun 

 early in April. The birds are said to use the 

 same nests year after year. The young when first 

 hatched are covered with black down, and closely 

 resemble little rats. Where there are extensive 

 marshes near sluggish streams, occasionally a 

 glimpse is caught of this bird, but the slightest 

 motion causes it to dart out of sight. The food 

 consists of various seeds, small water animals, 

 tadpoles, crayfish, etc., and the flesh is not the 

 equal of the smaller rail. Some confusion has 

 always existed between this species and the clap- 

 per rail, not only among sportsmen but also orni- 

 thologists. The king rail is seldom taken on salt- 

 water marshes, and the birds called king rails by 

 gunners in these localities are in the great majority 

 of instances the clapper rail. 



belding's rail 



[Rallus beldzngi) 



Similar to R. elegans, but darker and richer in its plumage; the 

 white bars on the flanks are much narrower, and the sides are 

 marked with distinct black bars ; basal two-thirds of the man- 

 dible, deep orange ; rest of bill, dark brown ; feet, dark brown. 



Measurements — Length, 15 inches; wing, 5.75 inches; tail, 2.50 

 -inches; culmen, 2 inches; tarsus, 1.85 inches. 



Habitat — The coast and islands of southern Lower California. 



