2 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 67 



I have supplemented my own observations with a review of the 

 published studies of others and have attempted to bring all informa- 

 tion on the King Rail together into a monographic treatment. 



My discussions in this paper include the history of the discovery 

 of the King Rail as a distinct species by Audubon in 1834 and its 

 systematic position in relation to the Clapper Rail, as taken mostly 

 from the literature. The discussions of other topics are largely from 

 my own observations, but supplemented with literature reports. The 

 principal topics include distribution and migration; ecological rela- 

 tions; physical characteristics; breeding biology; development and 

 behavior of captive rails; foods and feeding; mortality factors; and 

 the King Rail's position as a game bird. Appendixes include methods 

 of capturing and banding and a list of local names. Aquatic plant 

 names used in the text are from Hotchkiss (1950) unless otherwise 

 indicated. 



I am indebted to many persons for assistance with this project. 

 Anna Gilkeson Meanley, my wife, assisted with the fieldwork over a 

 7-year period in Arkansas and Louisiana. E. R. Kalmbach, former 

 Director of the Denver Wildlife Research Center, made the sketches 

 of courtship displays and offered encouragement and many sugges- 

 tions during the early phases of the study in Arkansas. Other col- 

 leagues from the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife who were 

 most helpful in various phases of the work include Nancy C. Coon, 

 John W. Aldrich, Van T. Harris, Lucille F. Stickel, Paul A. Stewart, 

 Robert E. Stewart, Charles C. Sperry, Neil Hotchkiss, Francis M. 

 Uhler, Frederick C. Schmid, Glen Smart, Johnson A. Neff, Robert G. 

 Heath, Luther C. Goldman, and David K. Wetherbee. Anthony tT. 

 Florio of the Delaware Game and Fish Commission was helpful in 

 Delaware studies. I am grateful to Samuel A. Grimes of Jacksonville, 

 Fla., for his photograph of a King Rail used as the frontispiece. 



