beaches and islands, but which mar 3 feo enae flv over or even iescend to feed 
n salt marshes. Birds of the first classification are the "more character- 
istic species", Birds of the second are treated under the heading "Less 
characteristic species" (p. 10). 
Rails 
A bird family highly characteristic of the salt marshes is the rail, 
and the most representative member of the family is the clapper rail, known 
| also as marsh or meadow hen. While rails abound in salt marshes, a casual 
observer might spend considerable time in these areas and never see one, for 
they are retiring and elusive and are most active in the morning and even- 
ing hours when the transient observer is least likely to be in the marshes. 
By going at those times, however, or by proceeding cautiously and quietly 
at others, the bird watcher may occasionally have an opportunity to see 
iofelabaL tee 
All of the group are narrow-bodied birds that slip about among the 
dense vegetation of the salt marsh so readily that capture by direct pur- 
suit probably is not within the power of any of their enemies. The clapper 
rail, about the size of a third-grown leghorn chicken, is largely grayish, 
with some olive on the back and buffy on the breast. It is always in the 
salt marshes, passing even the winter there, from New Jersey southward. The 
king rail, while chiefly an inhabitant of fresh marshes, occasionally is 
seen in the salt. It is of about the same size as the marsh hen, but is 
darker above and much more reddish brown below. The Virginia rail, 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. 
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The sora, a little smaller than the Virginia rail, is mostly olive- 
brown above and blue-gray below, with a sisee marking over the crown, about 
the base of bill, and on the throat. It is chiefly a fresh-marsh species, 
but may sometimes be seen in the selt marshes, and winters in them from the 
Carolinas south. Two smaller species, the yellow rail and the black sev IL 
and thus sufficiently described, inhabit the marshes, but they are so rare 
or elusive, or both, that they are seldom seen. 
All the rails have light and dark barring on the flanks. They tend 
to be most active in the evening, and the marsh then may resound with their 
distinctive calls. Their nests are on or near the ground, or supported just 
over the water, and are usually well concealed. The eggs are pale with dark 
spotting and often are laid in considerable number, clutches varying from ) 
to 15. 
The food habits of the rails have not been much studied. ‘The sora 
habitually fattens in wild-rice 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. Rails are pro- 
tected by law, but as they are classed as game birds an open season is 
provided for hunting them, 
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