The California Black Rail 



hands and knees. In this way an area never larger than a hundred acres 

 was scrutinized season by season. 



The nests proper, cushions of broken bits of salicornia, are either 

 placed on the ground or else on convenient shelves of matted vegetation. 

 The eggs are invariably concealed from above by overarching foliage. 

 Only rarely is a bird flushed under such circumstances, since she has a 

 hundred chances to escape by stealth. With the slightest suspicion of 

 interference, the bird deserts, and is indeed so sensitive that the mere 

 passage of a stranger causes her to lose interest in her charge forthwith. 

 Partially built nests and incomplete clutches, therefore, outnumber full 

 sets several to one. 



No Black Rail appears to have been detected at rest upon a nest, 

 and actual observation of the bird's habits seems to be limited to those 

 rare occasions, usually measured in seconds, when the bird will lift itself 

 a foot or so above the salicornia, and straggle off a rod or so with dangling 



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Taken in San Diego 



NEST AND EGGS OF PACIFIC BLACK RAIL 



Photo by Donald R. Dickey 



1552 



