UPLAND SHOOTING. 
291 
This bird which is, properly, 
The Clapper Rail, or Salt Water Marsh Hen, Ral- 
lus Crepitans, is a constant resident at one period or other 
of the year, on some part of the Atlantic coasts from Long 
Island to the Gulf of Mexico. It is a large-sized bird, weighing 
11 to 12 oz., and looking much larger than it really is. They 
are shot in the bays of Long Island, and still more abundantly 
in the vicinity of Charleston, much as the Sora Rail is on the 
Delaware; the boats are, however, in this sport, if it can be 
so called—for the birds are large, clumsy, slow-moving and 
cannot be missed—propelled by oars or paddled, not by the 
pole. On Long Island and generally in the Middle States, this 
bird is called the Mud, or Meadow-Hen. 
The other species commonly met with by the sportsman are, 
The Great Red-Breasted Rail, or Fresh Water Marsh 
Hen—Rallus Elegans —commonly known in Pennsylvania 
and New-Jersey as the “ King Rail.” 
This is the largest and by far the handsomest of the tribe; its 
weight is about 11 to 13 oz.—its length 20£ inches by an alar 
extent of 22. 
It is rarely found east of Pennsylvania, although I have occa¬ 
sionally killed it in New-Jersey. It is a constant resident of 
the Southern States. 
The Virginia Rail—Rallus Virginianus. This bird 
greatly resembles the last species, though not much more than 
half its size. ' It is properly a Southern bird, but is found during 
the autumn, in small numbers along the atlantic coasts. It is 
killed both on fresh and salt water, but is nowhere exceedingly 
abundant. 
In addition to these, I may name the common Coot of Ameri¬ 
ca, and the common Gallinule, both of this same family of 
Rallid,e. They are principally Southern birds, though strag¬ 
glers are occasionally found in the Middle and Eastern States. 
They are of little worth for the sport which they afford, and still 
less for the quality of their flesh; but like many other water 
birds and waders, such as the Bitterns, Herons, Egrets, and the 
