30 BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



215. Porzana noveboracensis (GMEL.). 



Yellow Rail. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Entire upper parts ochre-yellow, with longitudinal wide stripes of brownish-black 

 and transverse narrow stripes of white ; neck and breast reddish ochre-yellow ; many 

 feathers tipped with brown ; middle of abdomen white ; flanks and ventral region 

 with transverse bands of dark reddish-brown and narrow bands of white ; under 

 tail coverts rufous with small spots of white and black ; under wing coverts white. 



Length, (from tip of bill to end of tail) about 6 inches; extent, about 13; wing, 

 3| ; tail, If ; bill, | inch. 



Hab. Eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and Hudson's Bay west to Utah 

 and Nevada. No extralimital record except Cuba and the Bermudas. 



Birds of this species are occasionally taken about our rivers and 

 meadows during the spring and fall migrations. I have seen two 

 specimens which were captured in the early part of July, 1882, in 

 Delaware county, near Chester city. It is possible that this little 

 Kail sometimes breeds in Pennsylvania, yet I have no positive infor- 

 mation to this effect. According to Audubon the nest is usually 

 placed on the ground, in the center of a thick tuft of grass. It is 

 composed of different kinds of weeds, and is occasionally covered 

 over in the same manner as that of the Meadow Lark. The eggs, ac- 

 cording to different writers, vary from six to ten, and are described as 

 yellowish-brown, marked at the larger end with reddish spots, and 

 measure about 1.13 by .82 inches. 



SUBFAMILY GALLINULIN.S3. GALLINULES. 



GENUS GALLJNULA. BRISSON. 

 219. Gallinula galeata (LIGHT.). 



Florida Gallinule; Blue Rail. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Frontal plate large, obovate, terminating square on the top of the head ; bill shorter 

 than the head, rather thick, compressed ; wing rather long ; tail short ; legs mod- 

 erate ; toes and claws long, robust. Head, neck, and entire under parts dark bluish- 

 cinereous, frequently nearly black on the head and neck, and generally lighter on 

 the abdomen' ; a few feathers on the flanks widely edged with white ; edge of wing 

 at the shoulder and outer edge of first primary quill white ; shorter under tail cov- 

 erts black, longer white. Upper parts brownish-olive ; darker on the rump ; quills 

 dark-brown ; tail, brownish-black ; frontal plate and bill bright-red, tipped with yel- 

 low ; tibia with bright-red space on the portion next to the feathers ; (the red color 

 on frontal plate and tibiae is oftentimes hardly noticeable in specimens taken in au- 

 tumn ;) lower portion of tibia, tarsus, and toes yellowish-green ; iris brown. 



Total length, about 12 inches ; extent, about 21 ; wing, 6| ; tail, 3 ; bill, 1 ; tarsus, 



ii- 



Hab. Temperate and tropical America, from Canada to Brazil and Chili. 



The Blue Rail, as the Florida Gallinule is usually called by sports- 

 men, is a regular, though rare, spring and fall migrant in this locality. 



