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SCOLOPACEOUS COURLAN. 



-f-ARAMUS Scolopaceus, Vieill. 

 PLATE CCCXII— Male. 



This very remarkable bird appears to be entirely confined to that section 

 of the Peninsula of Florida known by the name of "Everglades," and the 

 swampy borders of the many bayous and lagoons issuing from that great 

 morass. Few are found farther north than "Spring Garden Spring." I 

 have heard of its having been in one instance procured on one of the Florida 

 Keys, by Mr. Titian Peale, whose specimen, which was a young male, 

 has been described and figured in the continuation of Wilson's American 

 Ornithology. None were seen by me on any of these islands, and our 

 worthy pilot told me, that in the course of the many years which he had 

 spent in that country he had never met with one off the main-land. It did 

 not occur to me on any part of the coast, while I was proceeding to Texas, 

 nor is it to be found in that country, which seems very strange, when I look 

 at this bird, and compare it with the Rail family, which is so abundant along 

 the whole of that coast, and to which it is very nearly allied in some of its 

 habits, more especially to the Fresh-water Marsh-hen, Rallus elegans. 



The flight of the Scolopaceous Courlan is heavy and of short duration; 

 the concavity and shortness of its wings, together with the nature of the 

 places which it inhabits, probably rendering it slow to remove from one spot 

 to another on wing, it being in a manner confined among tall plants, the 

 roots of which are frequently under water. When it rises spontaneously it 

 passes through the air at a short distance above the weeds, with regular beats 

 of the wings, its neck extended to its full length, and its long legs dangling 

 beneath, until it suddenly drops to the ground. Few birds then excel it in 

 speed, as it proceeds, if pursued, by long strides, quickly repeated, first in a 

 direct course, along paths formed by itself when passing and repassing from 

 one place to another, and afterwards diverging so as to ensure its safety even 

 when chased by the best dogs, or other not less eager enemies inhabiting the 

 half-submersed wilderness which it has chosen for its residence. When 

 accidentally surprised, it rises obliquely out of its recess, with the neck 

 greatly bent downward, and although its legs dangle for awhile, they are 

 afterwards extended behind in the manner of those of the Heron tribe. At 



Vol. V. 25 



