WILDLIFE OF THE ATLANTIC COAST SALT MARSHES 



casionally is seen in the salt marshes. It is of about the same size 

 as the marsh hen, but is darker above and much more reddish brown 

 below. The Virginia rail (B. limicola) , half the size of the king 

 rail, and of about the same general coloration, has a distinctly 

 reddish patch on each wing. It may be seen in the salt marshes at 

 all seasons, but more often in winter. The sora {Porzana Carolina), 

 a little smaller than 

 the Virginia rail, is 

 mostly olive brown 

 above and blue gray 

 below, with a black 

 marking over the 

 crown, about the base 

 of bill, and on the 

 throat. The sora is 

 chiefly a fresh-marsh 

 species, but it may 

 sometimes be seen in 

 the salt marshes and 

 winters in them from 

 the Carolinas south. 

 Two smaller species, 

 the yellow rail (Co- 

 turnicops novebora- 

 censis) and the black 

 rail (Creciscm jam r 

 aicensis), and thus 

 sufficiently de- 

 scribed, inhabit the 

 marshes, but they 

 are so rare or elusive, 

 or both, that they are 

 not often seen. All 

 rails have light and 

 dark barrings on the 

 flanks. 



Rails tend to be 

 most active in the 

 evening, an d the 

 marsh then may re- 

 sound with their dis- 

 tinctive calls. Their 

 nests are on or near 

 the ground, or sup- 

 ported just over the 

 water, and are usually well concealed. The eggs are pale with dark 

 spottings and often are laid in considerable number, clutches varying 

 from 5 to 15. 



The food habits of the rails have not been much studied. The sora 

 habitually fattens in wildrice marshes (fresh) in fall, and the other 

 species, except the clapper rail, frequent these areas to some extent. 

 Rails are known to feed on insects, snails, and small crustaceans, the 

 clapper rail being reported to devour many fiddler crabs. The birds 



Figure 1. — Clapper rail. 



