RAIL. 425 
the market of Philadelphia is abundantly supplied with Rail, which 
are sold from half a dollar to a dollar a dozen. Soon after the 20th 
of October, at which time our first smart frosts generally take place, 
these birds move off to the south. In Virginia, they usually remain 
until the first week in November. : 
Since the above was written, [ have received from Mr. George , 
Ord, of Philadelphia, some curious particulars’ relative to this bird, 
which, as they are new, and come from a gentleman of respectability, 
are worthy of being recorded, and merit further investigation. 
‘« My personal experience,” says Mr. Ord, “has made me acquainted 
with a fact in the history of the Rail, which perhaps is not generally 
known, and [ shall, as briefly as possible, communicate it to you. Some 
time in the autumn of the year 1809, as I was walking in a yard, after 
a severe shower of rain, I perceived the feet of a bird projecting from 
a spout. I pulled it out, and discovered it to be a Rail, very vigorous, 
and in perfect health. The bird was placed in’a small room, on a gin-. 
case, and I was amusing myself with it, when, in the act of pointing 
my finger at it, it suddenly sprang forward, apparently much irritated, 
fell to the floor, and, stretching out its feet, and bending its neck 
until the head nearly touched the back, became to all appearance 
lifeless. Thinking the»fall had killed the bird, I took it up, and be 
to lament my rashness in provoking it. In a few, minutes it again 
breathed, and it was some time before it perfectly recovered from the 
fit, into which, it now appeared evident, it had fallen. I placed the 
Rail in a room, wherein Canary Birds were confined, and resolved 
that, on the succeeding day, I would endeavor to discover whether or 
not the passion of anger had produced the fit. I-entered the room at 
the appointed time, and approached the bird, which had retired, on 
beholding me, in a sullen humor, to a corner. On pointing my finger 
at it, its feathers were immediately ruffled, and in an instant it sprang 
forward, as in the first instance, and fell into a similar fit. The fol- 
lowing day, the experiment was repeated with the like effect. In the 
fall of 1811, as I was shooting amongst the reeds, I perceived a Rail 
rise but a few feet before my batteau. The bird had risen about 
a yard when it became entangled in the tops of a small bunch of reeds, 
and immediately fell. Its feet and neck were extended, as in the 
instances above mentioned, and, before it had time to recover, I killed 
it. Some few days afterwards, as a friend and I were shooting in the 
same place, he killed a Rail, and, as we approached the spot to pick it 
up, another was perceived, not. a foot off, in a fit. I took up the latter, 
and placed it in the crown of my hat. In a few moments it revived, 
and was as vigorous as ever. These facts go to prove, that the Rail 
is subject to gusts of passion, which operate to so violent a degree as 
to produce a disease, similar in, its effects to epilepsy. I leave the 
explication of the phenomenon to those pathologists who are compe- 
tent and willing to investigate it. It may be worthy of remark, that 
the birds affected as described, were all females of the Gallinula 
Carolina, or Common Rail. | 
« The Rail, though generally reputed a simple bird, will sometimes 
manifest symptoms of considerable intelligence. To those acquainted 
with Rail shooting, it is hardly necessary to mention, that the tide, in 
36 * 
