Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/177

 RAIL 169 coarse grasses, and placed in retired marshes, and the eggs are 10 to 12. They are very gen- erally called marsh hens, as they resemble do- mestic fowls in their manner of carrying the head, in some of their habits, and in their cack- ling notes. The largest of the North Ameri- Fresh-water Marsh Hen (Eallus elegans). <san rails, and one of the handsomest of the ge- nus, is the red-breasted rail or the fresh-water marsh hen (H. elegans, Aud.); it is about 18 in. long, the bill 3, and 24 in alar extent, with a weight of about 1^ Ib. ; the color above is olive brown, with longitudinal stripes of brownish black, especially on the back ; throat and lower lid white ; neck before and breast rufous chestnut ; sides, lower parts, and under tail coverts with transverse bands of brownish black and white ; upper wing coverts reddish chestnut, the under black with white lines. It is found in the middle and southern states on the Atlantic coast, probably extending across to the Pacific, and chiefly on the margin of fresh waters ; it begins to breed in the south- ern states about the middle of April in its fa- vorite marshes; the young leave the nest as soon as born. The females are like the males, but smaller; they do not take to the water willingly, and are rather poor divers; the flesh is good, especially in autumn, and their eggs are said to be delicious. The clapper rail or salt-water marsh hen (It. crepitans, Gmel.) is about 14 in. long, with an alar extent of 20 ; the adult plumage is considerably like that of the last species, but the upper parts have a light ashy olive tint, and the neck and breast are more yellowish. It is abundant from New Jersey to Florida, extending also to South America, and is rarely found far from the sea ; the nest is deep and funnel-shaped, made of marsh plants and fastened to reeds above the ordinary high tide level; incubation lasts 14 days ; the eggs are collected by hundreds in New Jersey toward the end of spring. It is not a rapid swimmer, but is a good diver, and a very swift runner either on the ground or on floating weeds ; its flight is slow and generally straight ; though esteemed as food, other spe- cies are more sought after, especially the sora, in the middle states. The Virginia rail (R. Virginianus, Linn.) is about 10 in. long, with an alar extent of 14; it is like the others in form, and resembles R. elegans in color, hard- ly differing from it except in size. It is found throughout the temperate regions of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific, most abundantly along the margins of rivers and bays on the Atlantic, migrating south in au- tumn ; it is a very rapid runner and good swimmer, feeding both on salt marshes and fresh meadows by day and night. It breeds from the beginning of March to the middle of June, according to latitude ; like the other spe- cies it is a good ventriloquist, and seems often to be far off when close at hand ; the flesh is good eating in autumn and winter. The Euro- pean water rail (R. aquaticus, Linn.) is fulvous brown spotted with black above, bluish ash be- low, and barred black and white on the sides. The habits are the same as in other species ; the flesh is esteemed, though having rather a marshy flavor. The genus ortygometra (Linn.) has been subdivided into porzana (Vieill.) and crex (Bechst.). In porzana the bill is shorter than the head, the primaries longer than the tertiaries, the tail short, and the legs robust ; there are about 20 species in the temperate re- gions of the globe, with habits similar to those of rallus. Among the North American spe- cies is the Carolina or sora rail (P. Carolina, Cab.), so well known and so abundant as to Carolina Kail (Porzana CarolinenEis). be called "the rail" in the middle states; the length is about 9 in. and the alar extent 14 ; the color is greenish brown above, with longi- tudinal lines of black ; behind the eyes, sides of neck, and breast bluish ashy, with round white spots on the latter; middle of abdomen