NATURAL HISTORY OF THE KING RAIL 



55 



With the long warm period prevailing in the Deep South, time for 

 raising more than one successful 'brood would seem to be ample. A 

 breeding pair is busy with nesting activity for about 2 months (ap- 

 proximately 10 days for laying, 21-22 days for incubation, and 24-30 

 days with brood). As yet there is no evidence that the King Rail is 

 double-brooded ; however, no attempt has been made to determine this. 

 The closely related Clapper Eail in South Carolina is double-brooded 

 (Blandin, 1963, p. 66-67), and it is probable that some King Rails in 

 the Deep South also have more than one successful brood during a 

 season. 



A nest found in a cypress pond in southern St. Johns County, Fla., 

 in February 1933 contained 11 eggs in an advanced stage of incuba- 

 tion (Hallman, 1934, p. 18). Allowing a 21- or 22-day incubation 

 period plus 11 days for laying, it is conceivable that this nest was 

 started in January. D. J. Nicholson found a dead King Rail at Or- 

 lando, Fla., on February 16, 1925, with a hard-shelled egg ready for 

 deposit (Howell, 1932, p. 203). A single downy young King Rail was 

 seen on March 10, 1950, 2 miles west of 40-mile Bend, Dade County, 

 Fla., by J. C. Moore and D. B. Beard (U.S. National Park Service 

 files). W. B. Robertson, Jr. (personal communication), found several 

 young King Rails at Royal Palm Hammock, in the Florida Ever- 

 glades, on March 5, 1952. These last two examples indicate February 

 nesting. 



Adults with six young approximately 2 weeks old were recorded 

 in Lee County, Fla., July 30, 1966, indicating that the nesting season 

 in Florida extends into July (Frederick H. Lesser, personal 

 communication) . 



At Oakland Plantation, a few miles north of Charleston, S.C., a 

 brood of 10 young were seen by Francis Porcher on March 22, 1913 

 (Sprunt and Chamberlain 1949, p. 193). In this case nesting started 

 in early or mid-February. I found young 1 to 4 days old (egg tooth 

 present) and a nest of nine eggs in Jasper County, S.C, near Savan- 

 nah, Ga., on April 16, 1961, and young at Georgetown, S.C, on April 

 25, 1961. 



At Grand Chenier, Cameron Parish, on the southwestern coast of 

 Louisiana on April 8, 1956, I observed a pair of King Rails feeding 

 2-week-old young. Back-dating about 38 days to cover the age of the 

 young and the incubation period, laying began about March 3. 



Fifty miles north in the Louisiana rice country, nesting probably 

 gets underway a little later than on the coast. A nest of seven eggs was 

 found at Mamou, March 30, 1957. A late nest containing eight eggs 

 was found at Mamou, August 6, 1955. 



On the Arkansas Grand Prairie, the important nesting months are 

 April, May, and June (table 8). The earliest indication of nest build- 



