VI 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Prenesting activity 53 



Calling 53 



Symbolic nest building 54 



Copulation 54 



Nesting period 54 



Nest site and materials 57 



Egg laying and clutch size 61 



Clutch size 61 



Description of eggs 61 



Weight of eggs 62 



Incubation 62 



Hatching 64 



Nesting success and survival 65 



Breeding status of first-year birds 65 



Development and Behavior of Captive Rails 66 



Development of Young 66 



First-day chick 66 



One to thirty days 67 



Thirty to sixty days 68 



First winter plumage 72 



Miscellaneous notes on behavior of young 72 



Sleeping 72 



Competition 73 



Bathing 73 



Winter behavior of captive rails 73 



Foods 75 



Arkansas ricefields 77 



Texas ricefields 79 



Louisiana ricefields 79 



Upper St. Johns River, Fla 79 



Currituck Sound, N..C 79 



Patuxent River, Md 80 



Beaver Dam, Wis 80 



Chicago, 111 80 



Feeding Behavior 81 



Pellet casting 81 



Feeding young 82 



Regional observations 83 



Arkansas ricefields 83 



Delaware Bay marshes 83 



Savannah National Wildlife Refuge 84 



Some unusual observations 85 



Mortality Factors 86 



Manmade objects 86 



Predation 86 



Hurricanes. 88 



The King Rail as a Game Bird 90 



Methods of hunting 90 



Patuxent River, Md 91 



Eagle Lake area, Tex 93 



Other areas 93 



Summary 95 



Literature Cited 98 



