64 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 67 



Figure 26. — Distraction display of King Rail near ne^. This display is char- 

 acterized by feigning injury and emitting distress call. 



HATCHING 



Eggs in four Iowa nests hatched within a 24- to -IS-honr period, 

 and were pipped from 24 to 48 hours before hatching (Tanner and 

 Hendrickson, 1956, p. 55). 



Hatching was observed at Stuttgart, Ark., May 26-29, 1954. T\lien 

 located at 12 noon on the 26th, the nest contamed 10 eggs, only one 

 of which showed signs of hatcliing and had two small pip holes. By 

 4:30 p.m. the following day (May 27), 9 of the 10 eggs were pipped. 

 At 1 p.m. May 28, 3 eggs had hatched ; by 5 :30 p.m. that evening, 5 

 eggs had hatched; and by 10 a.m. May 29, all eggs had hatched. At 

 4 p.m. May 29, the entire brood and both parents were at the nest; 

 but at 9 :30 p.m. the entire family had deserted the nest and was prob- 

 ably spending the night in a nearby brood nest. 



At one Arkansas nest the parent birds alternately participated in 

 brooding newly hatched young and hatching eggs. Toward the end 

 of the hatching period the nonbrooding parent was usually observed 

 within 25 feet of the nest, accompanied by several of the chicks. 



As eggs hatch the shells are disposed of in several ways. One brood- 

 ing bird at an Arkansas nest ate most of an egg shell about 5 minutes 

 after the egg had hatched. Shell fragments were found in the stomachs 

 of several adult birds collected during the breeding season. Some shells 



