746 
U. S. P. R. R EXP. AND SURVEYS-ZOOLOGY—GENERAL REPORT. 
A. Ralleae .—Forehead feathered to the base of hill ; culmen parting the frontal feathers for 
a short distance only, and in an angle. 
Eallus. —Bill slender, longer than the head ; nasal groove extending beyond the middle 
of the hill; the elongated nostrils within the basal third of the commissure. Hind 
toe about one-third the tarsus. 
Porzana.— Bill thick, about equal to or shorter than the head ; culmen straight, or a 
little depressed near the nostrils ; gonys ascending. Nostrils reaching beyond the 
middle of the commissure. Hind toe about half the tarsus. 
B. Fuliceae .—Base of the bill extended on the forehead for a greater or less distance, as a 
naked, flattened, and rounded or quadrate plate. 
Gallinula. —Toes without marginal lobes ; the lateral membrane very slightly developed. 
Nostrils linear. 
Porphyrula. —Somewhat similar to Gallinula. Nostrils small, nearly circular. 
Fclica. —Toes with a well developed marginal membrane, which is incised at the joints 
into a series of semicircular lobes. 
The genera Heliornis, which has usually been ranged with the Totipalmi, is, by Burmeister 
and Keichenbach, placed near Fulica. A species, H. surinamensis, is said to have been occa¬ 
sionally seen in the United States. 
As in the Limicolae the following account of the Faludicolae has been prepared by Mr. John 
Cassin. 
Sub-Family RALLINAE. 
RALLUS, Linnaeus. 
Rallus, Linnaeus, Systema Naturae. 
Ch. —Bill longer than the head, rather slender, compressed ; upper mandible slightly curved ; nostrils in a long groove, and 
with a large membrane ; wings short; tertiary quills long, frequently longer than the primaries ; tail very short; legs moderate ; 
tarsus shorter than the middle toe, and covered on all sides with transverse scales ; toes long and rather slender ; inner toe 
rather shorter than the outer ; hind toe short and weak. 
This genus contains about twenty species, inhabiting all the temperate countries of the world, 
and very similar in their habits and frequently in appearance. Their long toes enable them to 
run over and climb amongst aquatic plants with great facility. 
EALLUS ELEGANS, Aud. 
King Rail; Marsh lien. 
Rallus elegans, Aud. Orn. Biog. Ill, 1835, 27 ; pi. 203.— Ib. Syn. 215 — Ib. Birds Am. V, 1842, 100; pi. 309. — 
Gundlach, Cab. Jour. 1856, 427. 
Rallus crepitans, Wils. Am. Orn. VII, 1813 ; pi. lxii, f. 2. (Not the description.) 
Sp. Ch.— The largest species of the United States. Upper parts olive brown, with longitudinal stripes of brownish black, 
most numerous on the back ; line from the base of the bill over the eye dull orange yellow ; space before and behind the eye 
brownish cinereous. Throat and lower eyelid white ; neck before and breast bright rufous chestnut; sides and abdomen, and 
under tail coverts, with transverse bands of brownish black and white, the dark bands being the wider ; tibiae dull yellowish 
white, with spots and transverse bars of ashy brown. Upper wing coverts reddish chestnut; under wing coverts black, with 
transverse lines of white. Sexes alike. Total length, (from tip of bill to end of tail,) about 17 inches; wing ; tail 3 
inches. 
Hab .—Middle and southern States on the Atlantic ocean ; California, (Dr. Suckley.) 
