PALUDICOLZ. 59 
disturbed. They are so protectively colored, and know so 
well how to assume protective attitudes, that they have small 
need to leave their covers. 
70. (208.) Rattus erecans Aud. 231. 
King Rail. 
Synonyms: Fresh-water Marsh Hen, Red-breasted Rail. 
Wheaton, Ohio Agri. Report, 1860, 369, 378. 
Inland this does not appear to be a common bird, but in 
shallow ponds or lagoons near the lake it is common. It is 
probably a summer resident wherever it occurs in the state, 
nesting in the marshes. 
It reaches Oberlin about the first of May, but I have no 
records for the southward migration. 
71. (212.) Rattus vircinranus Linn. 282. 
Virginia Rail. 
Nuttall, Man. IT, 1835, 205. 
This is probably the most common of the rails along the 
lake front where it is found in every marsh of any extent, 
and may even resort to wet meadows to nest. He is so sly 
and so hard to flush in spring that few but those who are 
on the lookout and know where to find him realize his pres- 
ence. The nest is generally placed on a hummock formed 
by the roots of a bush or tuft of grass in the marsh, often 
without concealment. In movement this bird resembles a 
chicken, just as the King Rail resembles a hen. It is less 
common than the Sora away from the lake marshes, becom- 
ing even rare as a summer resident near our southern bor- 
der. 
The Virginia Rail reaches Lorain county about the first of 
May, and has gone south by the middle of September. 
72. (214.) PorzAna caroLina (Linn.). 233. 
Sora. 
Synonyms: Rallus carolirus. 
Carolina Rail, Ortolan, Crake, Carolina Crake, Common Rail. 
Kirtland, Ohio Geol. Surv., 1838, 165, 185. 
