NATURAL HISTOiRY OF THE KING RAIL 



61 



p.m. one day in May, I heard two rails uttering their characteristic 

 jupe-jupe-jwpe-jupe-jupe call. One of the birds was standing in a 

 nearby ditch, and after about 3 minutes of watching, I saw the grass 

 move on the bank near the rail in view. As the same grass continued 

 to move, it was evident to me that the mate was building a nest. 

 Actually the bird was pulling in grass to form the sides and canopy 

 for a nest. After watching it for a few minutes I departed. The next 

 morning I found that construction was in the initial stage, but two 

 eggs had been laid on the bare ground and were surrounded by just 

 a few dead plant fragments. 



A Purple Gallinule, another species of Rallidae, was reported by 

 Grimes (1944, p. 63) to have a nest platform 6 inches thick when the 

 first egg was laid. As the eggs began to hatch, the nest was built up 

 until it was 13 inches thick. 



Similar nest building activity by Clapper Rails at Frogmore, S.C., 

 was reported by Hoxie (1887, p. 181) : 



The first time I found the nest it contained only one egg, and did not seem 

 wide enough to hold more than one more. ... As each new egg was laid they 

 added fresh material to the outside, until the nest was at least amply sufficient 

 to contain the full set of eight. 



Several brood nests, usually without canopies, are constructed near 

 the egg nest. 



EGG LAYING AND CLUTCH SIZE 



Eggs were deposited daily at five Arkansas nests. In one Arkansas 

 nest, the eggs were laid between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. In one South Caro- 

 lina nest, Wayne (1910, p. 36) noted that each egg was deposited after 

 11 a.m. 



Parasitism or "dumping" was recorded by B. H. Swales (1896, p. 

 142) in St. Clair County, Mich. On June 9, a King Eail was flushed 

 from a nest containing 17 eggs ; nine were apparently laid by the King 

 Rail, seven by a Virginia Rail, and one by a Sora. 



Clutch size 



Clutches of 10, 11, or 12 King Rail eggs are most frequently found 

 (table 9). A smaller clutch may represent a replacement clutch, de- 

 pending upon when it occurs. On the Arkansas Grand Prairie, the 

 earliest clutch of eight eggs was found on May 28, approximately 2 

 months after the beginning of the laying season. In Maryland, in July, 

 I observed three complete clutches of six eggs each. 



Description of eggs 



Bent (1926, p. 261) gives the following description of the eggs: 



They are ovate in shape and the shell is smooth and slightly glossy. The ground 

 color averages lighter than in eggs of the clapper rails, but not so light as in 



