CLASS II. AYES: ORDER 7. GRALL ATORliS. 269 
The Fresh- Water Marsh-Hen", R. elegans, is a large and beantiful species, nineteen inches 
long ; upper parts streaked with brownish-black and light olive-brown ; beneath bright orange 
and greenish-brown. It frequents fresh-water marshes and ponds in the interior, as well as along 
the coast, from Texas to New Jer- 
'"'^^S-'-, r^.^^ sey; very abundant in the South- 
western States. It feeds on seeds, 
insects, tadpoles, leeches, and small 
crawfish ; the nest is made on the 
ground, being raised six or eight 
inches by a mass of withered leaves 
and grass ; eggs eight to ten. 
Genus PORZAJSTA : Porzana. — 
This includes the Common Rail of 
the United States, known by the va- 
rious names of Carolina Rail, Soree 
Rail^ English Rail — P. Carolina — 
Ortygometra Carolina of De Kay 
and Audubon, Rallus Carolinus of 
Bonaparte ; it is nine and a half 
inches long, brown-olive above, beneath varied with white, black, and ash. It breeds in the vast 
reedy swamps and lagoons throughout the temperate portions of the United States. Its flesh is 
greatly prized, and it is much sought for by the sportsmen of the Middle and Southern States, 
where it appears in. large numbers in autumn, being particularly abundant along the shores of the 
Atlantic rivers, near their mouths. 
Other species are the Little Black Rail, P. Jamaicensis, found in the Middle and Southern 
States along the Atlantic shores, and the Yellow Rail, P. JVoveboracensis, found in Eastern North 
America. 
THE COiniON AMERICAN CAKOLINA BAIL. 
Genus CREX : Crex. — This in- 
cludes several species of Rail, called 
CraJces in England. The promi- 
nent species is the Corn-Crake, 
Corn-Drake, or Land-Rail of 
the English, the Roi des Cailles 
of the French, Re di Quaglie of 
the Italians, and Wachtel-Konig 
of the Germans ; C. joratensis. It 
is seven inches long, mottled above 
with dark brown, ash and reddish, 
breast olive, abdomen white. It 
is very shy, lives in grassy mead- 
ows, fields of young corn, and 
osier-beds; feeds on worms, snails, 
insects, larvje, seeds, and grain ; 
makes its nest on the ground, and 
lays from ten to twelve eggs. It 
is not easily flushed, but runs 
rapidly before a dog. The young 
are covered with a blackish down, 
and are almost immediately able to follow the motlier upon being hatched. This species in- 
habits Europe generally ; it is found in Greenland, and is accidental on the coasts of the United 
States. 
Other species are the Spotted Crake, C. porzana ; Little Crake, C. pusilla ; Baillon's 
Crake, C. Baillonii ; all found in Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
