48 
THE CONDOR 
Von. XI 
In 1886 I was living near San Bernardino. In December of that year I drove 
to San Diego and spent several days looking for California Black Rails, without 
success. Some of the local hunters knew of them and one of them a few days later 
sent me one in the flesh. He wrote that he had killed it near Encinitas, some 
twenty-five miles up the coast. 
My next acquaintance with the species was November 16, 1902, when a 
young friend brought me one which he said he had caught that day with his hands 
on the railroad track near the foot of 14th street in San Diego, at high tide. At 
this place the railroad tracks cross a tide marsh, which is now being filled. 
East spring the manual training teacher here told me that one of his pupils 
had found the eggs of the California Black Rail in a marsh near National City. 
This lad told me about where he had found the nests and said the birds were com- 
mon there. At Mr. Grinnell’s suggestion I tried trapping for the Rails with mouse 
traps set in the marsh vegetation. I kept three dozen traps out a week or so but 
caught no Rails. I did get several sparrows and a number of harvest mice ( Reit/i - 
rodontomys ) and meadow mice (Microtus) . When setting the traps I found an 
egg, undoubtedly of this species, lodged in the marsh plants where it evidently had 
floated at high tide. Its contents were thoroly dried, but the egg was otherwise in 
fine condition and apparently had not been incubated- I suspect that nests are 
often inundated by extra high tides. As trapping proved unsuccessful I had the 
lad come and show me just where he found the nests and found that I was not trap- 
ping in the best place. May 28th, we tramped thru the marsh two or three 
hours and flushed one California Black Rail which I shot. 
This boy gave me considerable information about the habits of these Rails 
which I will summarize. He had done much hunting for the nests and thought 
he was lucky if he found a nest in half-a-day’s steady search. The nest seems to 
be usually situated in very thick marsh vegetation ( Salicornia , etc.) near the 
highest limits of the high tide. He carefully turned over all the upper part of the 
mass of plants foot by foot. He said the nests were always covered, but were 
usually from an inch to several inches above the ground. I understood him to 
say that he had found several empty nests, some not yet used, and some which the 
young birds had left. He said that he had never found any bird at the nest, 
which might be expected from the nests being so well hidden and the ease with 
which the bird could slip off and keep out of sight. He said he found eggs about 
the middle of March and about the 20th of April. Five and six seems to be the 
usual number but he knew of one set that contained eight eggs. All the eggs he 
knew of had been found in the last four years in a tract of less than 100 acres. He 
said that he had heard notes that he believed were made by this Rail and described 
them as a sort of clicking sound. He thinks that at low tide the Rails hide in 
crab holes, at times. 
In June, 1908, I looked for California Black Rails about False Bay, which is a 
short distance northwest of San Diego Bay, but within the city limits. The 22d, I 
was there at low tide, and when passing along a broad tide creek I saw one 
crouched in the mud a few feet from the bank. It stood perfectly still, with head 
lowered, as if expecting to be overlooked. It was so near that I killed it with my 
.32 caliber auxilliary. A few days later I hunted a part of the marsh at high tide 
late in the afternoon. On my way to camp at dusk in a place where the marsh 
lay at the foot of a bluff one flushed almost under my feet and lit a dozen yards 
away among the debris lodged at the foot of the hill and stood there in the open, 
tho not to be seen distinctly because of the gathering darkness. I fired at it, 
without effect. The bird flew out oyer the water and then turned around the 
