RALLIN^. RALLUS. 
215 
Plumage rather stiff ; feathers of the forehead with the shaft 
enlarged, and extended beyond the tip. Wings very short 
and broad; third quill longest. Tail very short, much 
rounded, of twelve feeble rounded feathers, scarcely longer 
than the coverts. 
311. 1. Rallus elegans, Aud. Great^Red-breasted Rail.— 
Fresh- water Marsh-Hen. 
PliATE CCIII. Male and Young. 
Upper part of head and hind neck dull brown ; a brownish-orange 
line over the eye ; lower eyelid white ; loral space and band behind 
the eye dusky ; upper parts of the body streaked with brownish-black 
and light olive-brown, the two sides of each feather being of the latter 
colour ; wing-coverts dull chestnut ; most of the irregularly tipped 
with white primaries deep olive-brown ; secondaries and tail-feathers 
like the back ; sides and fore part of neck, with the breast, bright 
orange-brown ; sides of the body and lower wing- coverts undulated 
with deep brown and greyish-white ; tibial feathers pale greyish-brown, 
faintly barred with^ darker, as is the hind part of the abdomen ; lower 
tail-coverts white, each with a blackish-brown spot near the end, those 
in the middle barred with black and white. Female and young similar, 
but with the tints duller. Iris bright red. 
Ma/ey 19, 25. Female, 18, 24. 
From Texas to New Jersey, more common from Louisiana to North 
Carolina. Inland swamps and marshes. Once met with in Kentucky. 
Great Red-breasted Rail, Rallus elegans. Add. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 27. 
312. 2. Rallus crepitans, Gmel. Clapper Rail. — Salt- 
water Marsh-hen. 
Plate CCIV. Male and Female. 
Upper part of head and hind neck olivaceous brown ; a brownish- 
orange line from the bill to the eye ; lower eyelid white ; loral space, 
cheeks, and part of the sides of the neck bluish-grey ; upper parts of 
the body streaked with greenish-olive and light grey, the two sides of 
each feather being of the latter colour ; wing-coverts dull olive, tinged 
with grey, some of them with slight irregular whitish markings ; pri- 
maries olive-brown, secondaries and tail-feathers like the back ; upper 
part of throat yellowish-white, edged on either side with pale yellow- 
ish-brown ; sides and fore part of neck bluish-grey, tinged with pale 
yellowish-brown ; the fore part of the breast of the latter colour ; 
lower wing- coverts, sides, hind part of abdomen, and middle lower 
