THE CLAPPER RAIL. 167 



distance, and remain crouched among the grass until you have retired. 

 When, on returning, the poor bird finds that her treasure has been stolen, 

 she immediately proclaims her grief aloud, and in this is joined by her 

 faithful mate. In a few days, however, more eggs are deposited, although, I 

 believe, never in the same nest. This species may be called gregarious, yet 

 the nests are seldom nearer to each other than five or ten yards. They are 

 placed in the thickest and most elevated tufts of grass, principally near the 

 edges of the many lagoons that everywhere intersect the sea marshes, so 

 that a man ma)' go from one to another, finding them with ease as he pro- 

 ceeds along the muddy shores. In the Jerseys, it forms almost a regular 

 occupation to collect the eggs of this bird, and there I have seen twenty or 

 more persons gathering them by thousands during the season; in fact, it is 

 not an uncommon occurrence for an egger to carry home a hundred dozens 

 in a day; and when this havoc is continued upwards of a month, you may 

 imagine its extent. The abundance of the birds themselves is almost beyond 

 belief; but if you suppose a series of salt-marshes twenty miles in length, 

 and a mile in breadth, while at every eight or ten steps one or two birds 

 may be met with, you may calculate their probable number. 



During ebb, the Clapper Rail advances towards the edge of the waters as 

 they recede, and searches, either among the grasses, or along the deep fur- 

 rows made by the ebb and flow of the tides, for its food, which consists prin- 

 cipally of small crabs, a species of salt-water snail attached to the rushes, the 

 fry of fishes, aquatic insects, and plants. When the tide flows, they gradual- 

 ly return, and at high-water they resort to the banks, where they remain con- 

 cealed until the waters begin to retreat. This species is by no means exclu- 

 sively nocturnal, for it moves about in search of food during the whole of the 

 day, in this respect resembling the Gallinules. Their courage is now and 

 then brought to the test by the sudden approach of some of their winged 

 enemies, such as a Hawk or an Owl, especially the Marsh Hawk, which is 

 often attacked by them while sailing low over the grass in which they are 

 commonly concealed. On such occasions, the Rail rises a few yards in the 

 air, strikes at the marauder with bill and claws, screaming aloud all the while, 

 and dives again among the grass, to the astonishment of the bird of prey, 

 which usually moves off at full speed. They are not so fortunate in their 

 encounters with such Hawks as pounce from on high on their prey, such as 

 the Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks, against which they have no 

 chance of defending themselves. Minks, racoons, and wild cats destroy a 

 great number of them during night, and many are devoured by turtles and 

 ravenous fishes; but their worst enemy is man. My friend Bachman has 

 shot so many as sixty in the course of four hours, and others have killed 

 double that number in double the time. 



