PURPLE GALLL\ULE. 129 



alike from danger to be dreaded from the inhabitants of the land as of the 



o 



water. On the thick mass of withered leaves are deposited the precious 

 eggs, from which in time emerge the dusky younglings, that presently 

 betake themselves to the water, over which they wander, guided by their 

 affectionate parent, until it becomes expedient for the party to disperse. 



The Purple Gallinule is a constant resident in the United States, although 

 peculiar to our southern districts, where I have met with it at all seasons. 

 It is in the Floridas, the lower parts of Alabama, and among the broad 

 marshes bordering the Gulf of Mexico, in Lower Louisiana, that I have 

 observed its habits. Beyond the Carolinas eastward, it is only met with as 

 an accidental straggler. It never, I believe, ascends the Mississippi beyond 

 Memphis, where indeed it is but rarely seen; but between Natchez and the 

 mouths of the great river, it is abundant on all the retired bayous and small 

 lakes. The southern portions of Georgia are also furnished with it; but in 

 South Carolina it is rare. Proceeding south-westward along the Gulf of 

 Mexico, I have found it as far as Texas, where it breeds, as well as in 

 Louisiana, where I observed it coming from the south in May, 1837. 



Having studied the habits of this bird under every advantage in Louisiana, 

 and especially in the neighbourhood of New Orleans, and the mouths of the 

 Mississippi, I will now, good reader, place before you the results of my 

 observation. In the summer months, the Purple Gallinules remove with 

 their broods to the prairies or large savannahs bordering the bayous or lakes 

 on which they have bred, and remain in those places, which are generally 

 covered with thick and tall grass, until the beginning of September, when 

 the vegetation having been dried up by the intense heat and drought, neither 

 food nor sufficient concealment can be obtained. The young birds usually 

 abandon these plains first, and while the colour of their plumage is still 

 green, instead of purplish-blue, which tint, however, is assumed before the 

 return of spring. During all this while, its notes are as frequently heard as 

 during the breeding season. They resemble the delicate whistling sounds 

 of the Blue-winged Teal during its residence with us. At this season also 

 its flesh is best, although it never equals that of the Fresh-water Marsh-hen, 

 Rallus elegans, or of the Sora Rail, Rallus carolinus. 



On the approach of winter, all the Purple Gallinules leave the savannahs, 

 and betake themselves to the immediate vicinity of ponds, bayous, or rivers, 

 where through experience they become shy, vigilant, and cunning. They 

 seldom remove from one place to another, or travel at all, unless by night, 

 although in sequestered parts they feed both on land and on the water by 

 day. 



The Purple Gallinule breeds at a remarkably early period of the year. I 

 have found young birds in their jetty down clothing in February, and they 



