802 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
The rails also build their nests near the ground in big grass tussocks. In this position the nest is 
usually more pretentious, being hollowed out of a mass of dried grass, stems, and leaves, and is lined 
with finer shredded stems, mixed with a small amount of down from young albatrosses. Such nests are 
commonest along the border of the bushy grass area near the lagoon. Whenever visited, the few nests 
always contained old birds. As the greater part of the rails collected were males, it is probable that 
the females were keeping rather close to home. We found no young, and all the eggs collected were 
fresh. The young apparently begin to hatch about the middle of June. 
The following episode illustrates very forcibly the fearlessness of these rails. While photographing 
a nest I propped back the mass of juncus stems which obscured it. The camera was only 2 feet away, 
and during the adjusting of apparatus the rail crept onto the nest and energetically began to cover 
herself with the soft lining. After photographing her several times, I lifted her off, but almost at 
once she slipped back again and settled down contentedly. Then with the dark cloth I persuaded 
her to retire to the tall grass near at hand. I hastened back to the camera, but on turning perceived 
my rail skipping across the flattened juncus in hot pursuit, and I was able to make only a hasty 
inspection of the ground glass before she had settled on the nest again. (Fig. 44. ) 
Porzanulci palmeri is peculiar to Laysan. Its appearance strongly suggests a pale brownish Porzana 
jamaicensis. It is highly probable that the Laysan bird originated from some form closely allied to 
jamdicensis, if not from the identical species. Pennula, of the island of Hawaii, presumably had a 
similar origin from accidental migrants. 
Though provided with wings, the Laysan bird has lost the power of flight, because its change of 
habits and the proximity of food in the colonized island have made the use of wings no longer 
necessary. Why the original migrants never left the island, as the golden plovers do now, is difficult 
to conjecture, unless, driven on by the strong northeast trades, they were so completely worn out and 
lost that they never cared to abandon the welcome land. This suggests that the original colonists may 
have been immature birds which joined flocks of more or less regular migrants to the Hawaiian group. 
We brought away 16 specimens — 10 males and 6 females. These present no marked variation, 
with the exception of one female, which is remarkably paler than the other specimens, besides 
possessing a stouter bill and larger legs and feet. In the ordinary birds the top of head, back, scapulars, 
sides, and flanks are sandy brown, marked on head and back with very dark-brown lanceolate shaft 
streaks. The outer edges of the feathers of the back and flanks are also sparsely streaked with white. 
The wings are the same color as back, except that the shaft streaks are lighter or almost wanting. 
The lower surface, sides of head, and a line over each eye are slaty gray, rather deep in the less worn 
specimens, and occasionally brownish about the breast from an infusion from the sides of neck. The 
abnormal specimen has the ground color of the top of head, back, etc., a cream buff, very pale on the 
wings. The streaks are represented by illy defined and uneven spots of light wood or brocolli brown, 
which are darker and more definite on the head. The under parts are conspicuously paler than those of 
the normal bird and the bill and feet are paler. This specimen was taken by Prof. C. C. Nutting, and 
was the only unusual individual noted, although we must have seen many hundred birds at close range. 
The size of an average rail is: length about 150 mm.; wing, 54; tail, 24; culmen, 19; middle toe, 34. 
It is of the utmost importance that neither the mongoose, cat, or pig ever be taken to Laysan. 
The first two particularly would make short work of this most interesting bird. So long as the island 
is in as good hands as at present, this will not happen. It is likely to be brought about by ignorance 
rather than by malice. One can easily see how the pig might be taken ashore for food and eventually 
run wild to the almost certain destruction of the sea-bird population. 
SC0L0PACM. 
Heteractitis incanus. Wandering Toiler; Ulili. 
Scolopax incanus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., I, ii, 1788, p. 658. 
On Laysan this bird was the least common of the migrants. We generally saw a few every day 
wading in the shallow water of the lagoon, gleaning small flies and possibly brine shrimps ( Artemia? ) 
also. Usually the species was seen alone. I saw also one or two on Necker Island, feeding among the 
rocks just above the surf. 
In “Birds of the Hawaiian Islands,” p.92,Mr. Henshawsays: “ The ulili is a permanent inhabitant 
of the Hawaiian Islands, frequenting the rocky shores of all members of the group, as, indeed, it does 
of the Pacific islands generally. * * * Apparently the ulili never nests on the islands, and about 
