i\OUTH AMEBIC AH BIRDS. 



127 



316. BLACK BAIL. Porzana jamaieensis (Gmel.) Geog. Dist. — Temperate 

 North America, north to Massachusetts, Northern Illinois and Oregon; south to West 

 Indies "Stid South America. 



Smallest of our North American Rails; not often found in the United States and 

 one of the rarest of our birds. Its small size and secretive habits are doubtless one 

 of the causes of its apparent scarcity. A nest containing ten eggs was found near 

 Saybrook, Conn. Ten fresh eggs were taken from a nest in Illinois, June 19, 1875, 

 near Calumet River. The nest was placed in a deep, cup-shaped depression; in shape 

 and situation resembled that of the Meadow Lark, but the Rail's nest was much 

 deeper in proportion to the diameter. It was elaborately made of grass-stems and 

 blades. The eggs were clear white, thinly sprinkled with reddish-brown dots, more 

 numerous about the large end.* Mr. Harry Menke found a nest containing nine eggs 

 in a marsh near Garden City, Kan., June 6, 1889. The nest was placed on a low 

 ridge near the center of a pond, a neat, compact structure, composed entirely of 

 blades of a kind of water grass. Dr. Coues says: "Eggs from New Jersey are alto- 

 gether different from those of the Sora, or Yellow Crake, being creamy-white, 

 sprinkled all over with fine dots of rich, bright reddish-brown, and with a few spots 

 of some little size at the great end; most like the more finely speckled examples of the 

 egg of the large Ralli; dimensions, 1.05x .80." 



216. 1. FARALIiONE RAIL. Porzana coturniculus (Ridgw.) Geog. Dist.— 

 Parallone Islands. 



This species is like the last, but rather smaller, more uniform in color, without 

 the white specks on the back. It is known only from the type specimen taken on the 

 Farallones. 



[217.] COBIT CRAKE. Crex crex (Linn.) Geog. Dist.— Europe and Northern 

 Asia; casual visitor in Greenland, Bermuda and Eastern North America. 





217. Corn Crake. 



The Land Rail, Corn Crake, or Corn Creak, is an abundant species over the entire 

 continent of Europe. In England and Scotland it is a familiar bird, where it breeds 

 in abundance. Very common in the Orkney and Shetland Islands. It frequents the 



• IS. W. Nelson: Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club. Vol. I, p. 43. 



