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lake was nearly dried up, he did not succeed in finding- it, although told by hunters 
who resort there that at some seasons it is quite abundant. Mr. Boardman informs 
me that this Bail occasionally occurs in the neighborhood of Calais, and that one 
specimen was received by him which had been taken in the Bay of Fundy. He 
regards its appearance in that section of the country as being a rather uncommon 
occurrence. It is not known to breed there, and its presence has only been noticed 
in the fall. It is occasionally noticed also in Massachusetts. A single specimen 
was taken in Newton by Mr. Maynard, Sept. 8, 1868, in a dry and open field; and 
I am informed by Mr. Purdie that another was procured in the marshes of Canton, 
Mass., Oct. 15, 1872. 
Mr. Giraud was of opinion, that although the Yellow-breasted Bail is seldom 
met with on Long Island, it is far from being so rare in that locality as has been sup- 
posed. Its habit of skulking among the tall grass and reeds which overgrow certain 
wet and seldom-frequented marshes, as well as its unwillingness to take wing, 
explain its supposed scarcity when actually present in abundance. 
Bichardson, although he did not meet with it in the Arctic Begion himself, and 
could not learn any particulars in regard to its habits or the extent of its migrations, 
quotes from the manuscript notes of Hutchins a notice of it, written in 1777, men- 
tioning it as an inhabitant of the marshes on the coast of Hudson’s Bay, near the 
efflux of the Biver Severn, from, the middle of May to the end of September. It 
never flies, he adds, above sixty yards at a time, but runs with great rapidity among 
the long grass near the shores. In the morning and evening it utters a note which 
resembles the striking together of a flint and steel. At other times it makes a shriek- 
ing noise. He also adds — but in this he is evidently misinformed — that it builds 
no nest, depositing sixteen perfectly white eggs among the grass. Its eggs are known 
not to be white, and in Illinois its nest resembles the ordinary loosely constructed 
one of this family. 
Dr. Cooper writes that he is indebted to Mr. Mathewson for authority to add this 
species to the fauna of the Pacific coast. The latter obtained several specimens of it 
at Martinez in autumn, and afterward other observers met with it in the winter. 
It seemed to be not uncommon there, and to be a resident species. 
The Prince of Musignano obtained a specimen of this bird in the New York 
market, in February, 1826, and regarded it as an Arctic species. This opinion Mr. 
Audubon was not inclined to accept, stating it to be a constant resident of Florida, 
as well as of the lower portion of Louisiana, where he has found it at all seasons ; 
and he regarded its presence in midwinter near New York as accidental. In the 
neighborhood of New Orleans it is said to be common in all the deserted savannas 
covered with thick, long grass, among pools of shallow water. There its sharp and 
curious notes were heard many times in the course of the day. These sounds come 
upon the ear so as to induce the listener to believe the bird to be much nearer than 
it really is. In Florida Audubon found this species even more abundant than it was 
in Louisiana, and he met with it both on the mainland and on several of the Keys — 
where, as he states, it begins to breed in March. In the neighborhood of New Or- 
leans it is said to breed at the same period. Dr. Bachman has found this bird near 
Charleston, S. C. ; and Mr. Audubon met with it near Vincennes, on the Wabash, in 
summer, where it had young broods. At Silver Springs, in East Florida, the latter 
had a good opportunity of observing the habits of this Bail, along the margins of 
lakes and swampy bayous. He noticed that it followed the margins of the muddy 
shores with measured steps, until, attracted by some object, it would suddenly 
jerk its tail upward and disappear for the moment. It was so unsuspicious, that at 
