V 
157 
LEAST WATER RAIL. 
Ortygometra jamaicensis, Briss. 
PLATE CCCYIII. — Mai.e, Female, and Young. 
My knowledge of this pretty little species is altogether derived from 
Titian Peale, Esq., of Philadelphia, by whom, in October, 1836, I was 
favoured with the following letter : — 
“ I herewith send you the ‘ Little Rail ’ of which we were speaking 
yesterday, and the letter of Dr. Rowan which relates to it. The young 
died soon after I received them, but the old one lived with me until the 26th 
of July (four days after its capture), evincing considerable anxiety for the 
young as long as they lived. Both young and old partook sparingly of 
Indian meal and water, or bread and water, and soon became quite at home, 
and probably might have been domesticated, had they been properly accom- 
modated. 
“ The most remarkable part of the history of this individual is, that after 
its death we should have discovered on dissection that it was a male, render- 
ing it singularly curious that he. should have suffered himself to be captured 
by hand while in defence of the young brood. 
“ There is now in the museum a specimen of this species, which has been 
in the collection for about thirty years, said to have been caught in the 
vicinity of the city. It stands labelled { Little Rail, Rallus minutus, 
Turton’s Linn but the authenticity of the specimen has always been dis- 
puted by Bonaparte and other's, because none else had been found ; and the 
author just named expressed a belief that it was an immature specimen of 
Rallus ( Crex ) Porzana of Europe. 
“ I regret that I should have mislaid the measurements of the specimen 
when recent, if any were taken, and cannot lay my hands on them, or any 
thing more than the above notes. Respectfully yours, &c. 
• “ Titian R. Peale.” 
Inclosed in Mr Peale’s letter was the following note from Dr. Rowan 
“ to the Messrs. Peales.” 
“ On Saturday last I wrote to you of the Rail-bird breeding near this 
place. I then described one that I caught last summer, which was unlike 
the Rail in the fall season, and I presumed that all in the wet ground were 
Vol. Y. 22 
