302 GAME BIEDS OF CALIFORNIA 



ends of secondaries; axillars and lining of wing, white or mixed white and 

 dusty; breast yellowish brown; belly white; sides and flanks blackish or 

 dusky brown, narrowly barred with white; under tail coverts chestnut brown; 

 legs and feet light brown. Some specimens have white bars on top of head 

 broken into spots and occasionally extending down onto sides of head and 

 even around onto breast. Whether this condition is a mark of old age or of 

 immaturity is not apparent. Males: Total length 7.50 inches (190 mm.) (one 

 specimen) ; folded wing 3.34-3.53 (84.8-89.5) ; bill along culmen 0.63-0.66 (16.0- 

 16.8); tarsus 0.91-1.02 (23.1-25.9) (five specimens). Females: Total length 

 6.50 (165) (one specimen) ; folded wing 3.20-3.36 (81.3-85.3) ; bill along culmen 

 0.58-0.64 (14.7-16.3); tarsus 0.91-0.92 (23.0-23.4) (three specimens); all from 

 California. Juvenile and natal plumages: Not known to us. 



Marks for field identification — Rail characters of form, small size, yellow- 

 ish brown cast of coloration, and presence of narrow white cross-bars which 

 contrast conspicuously with the otherwise streaked upper surface, and white 

 patch on wing shown in flight. In all our other rails, except the dark-colored 

 Black Bail, the back markings run lengthwise. 



Voice — Not definitely known; thought to be similar to that of the Black 

 Eail (Eaton, 1910, pp. 281, 282). 



Nest — Seems to be not yet described, but probably situated on the ground 

 and similar to the nests of other rails. 



Eggs — 5 (?), ovate in shape, measuring in inches, about 1.06 to 1.16 by 

 0.81 to 0.85 (in millimeters, 27.0 to 29.5 by 20.5 to 21.5), and averaging 1.11 

 by 0.83 (28.2-21.0) ; ground color pinkish buff; a small dense cap of fine dots 

 of orange cinnamon, mikado brown and vinaceous drab on large end; dots more 

 sparingly distributed elsewhere on surface (5 eggs, a set?, in IT. S. National 

 Museum, taken in Illinois). 



General distribution — North America from central Canada to the Gulf 

 Coast. Occurs in summer from southern Mackenzie, central Keewatin, and 

 Quebec south to North Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, and Maine; winters in the 

 Gulf states and California, visiting more rarely New York, North Carolina, 

 Bermuda, Oregon, and Arizona (Cooke, 1914, p. 32). 



Distribution in California — Bather rare winter visitant to marshes of west- 

 central California: Martinez, Contra Costa County (Cooper, 1868, p. 8); 

 Alvarado, Alameda County (W. B. Bryant, 1886, p. 426) ; Alameda County 

 (Kaeding, 1898a, p. 70); Sonoma County (Carriger, 1899, p. 72); Eincon Valley, 

 Sonoma County (Mus. Vert. Zool.) ; Suisun Marshes, Solano County (Mus. Vert. 

 Zool.); Los Bafios, Merced County (Mus. Vert. Zool.); Marin County (J. Mail- 

 liard, 1901, p. 16) ; San Mateo County and Berryessa, Santa Clara County 

 (Cooke, 1914, p. 32). Also recorded from Humboldt Bay (C. H. Townsend, 

 1886, p. 491); Newport Bay, Orange County (Osburn, 19116, p. 108); and 

 Corona, Biverside (Pierce, 1914, p. 182). 



The Yellow Eail in California must be classed purely as a winter 

 visitant. Like certain geese and the Mountain Plover it seems to have 

 a diagonal route of migration from the north-central portion of the 

 continent. Its breeding grounds appear to lie mostly north of the 

 United States in central and eastern Canada. Not all of the birds of 

 this species winter on the Pacific coast, however, for a large contingent 

 moves directly southward and spends the colder months in the Gulf 

 states. West of the Rockies the species has been found only in Cali- 



