252 Y E L L O W - B R E A S T E D RAIL.
pairs, in May 1832. About New: Orleans it commencés, breeding at the
same period. Dr BACHMAN lias procured spéciïhens near Charleston. I
have also found a few near Viticetmes on. the Wabash Hiver in summer,
when they had young broods. In the c.uur.se of my stay at the Silver
Springs in East Florida, I observed a good number of these, birds
along t i e margin* of the lakes and swampj^ayouS, and had ample
opportunities of assuring -n.iyBo.if that this specious, i> far from being
,nocturnal, ¡us authors have a.llegod..at |(;%st when in places «here'tliev
are, undqy-no apprehension of danger. In those sultry solitudes I
have at timegtSjjgi them following the margins of the. muddf shores,
with delicate and. measured stops, untii attracted i.y something worthy
of their; attention, when they t-uiidenly jcrkc.ii their ¡tail upwards, and
for a moment disappeared. Again, they would gracefully leap upon
.sth* slender twig .of some, low shrub or bush, apparently in search
<if small snails or.i.other objects, jerking. th»;ii>) ail at . every;-imp.vement.
There jt. was that I again saw tho.extniordjti.ar.y power, of ,contraction
which their body, is able to assume while they .are pushing for.
ward, between two or more stubborn branches,,, .-They were, alfesiHlgehtle
that .I at times approached within, a few, yards .of them, when they
would 110» and then look cunningly at me, rise more erect, lor a 'moment,
and then resume tlu-ir occupations. ,
When searched for by a dog, they sewn is if determined.to put him
out iiy: continual manoeuvring, running ami cutting backwards within
a few yar.dsi of extent, until the-dog «an, no, longer .follow ¡the- last trail.
Just llien.;thi!y ri.so ;».n wing, or run oil' to-.some other spot equally
adapted for-security. A friend of mine who -resides in .®ew Orleans,
and has-shot sojnehundreds of this species, told we that the best method
of obtaining a shot i< to lie concealed near an opening ill the grass,
and call the bird out of cover by imitating its notes-,: when in a iinv
minâtes, being extremely pugnacious,.it com«» toitiho. clear space,, and
may be easily"shot. Its flesh is delicate and savoury.
The nest somewhat resembles that of Bailmt'elegam. It is; generally
placed upon the ground in th#»^M»'-of/a;'thicfc tuft bf grass,
and the bed of it 16 at times elevated above, the soil to the. sheight of
;f<MBi or five .inches.,- It is composed of weeds of various kinds, and
iS-BOW and then coven«! over in the same manner as that of our
Meadow Lark. The eggs are IVom. eight.,to ten, pure white, thinshelled,
and. measure 1J inch by nearly seven eighths. The young are
at, first.black, and, are,.able' ta folio* thein parents almost immediately
Y E L L O W - B R E A S T E D RAIL. 253
after birth. I am induced to bel ie« that two, or perhaps three, broods
are reared in the ¡season.
Thp.fligbt.ot' this pretty little bird is rather swift, and more protracted
than that of some of our Rails, especially when put up by a
dog coming inadvertently upon 'it. At other times, when in places
not frequented, it rises and removes m * distance rarely exceeding
thirty .or forty, yards, »filing as it were among- the grass with wings
Stretched upwards and dangling The .gfaard?as large and muscular,
as-in the Water-he*..and our<6ih«r Rails- One which I opened
was.filled with minute fresh-water shell-fish and gravel. They feed
also oil insects of various kinds, and tile seeds of grasses. '
My frfend THOMAS NCTTAI.D has so well described the notes of
this bird, that I cannot do better than present you. with his account of
them, - » m the Oth of October (1831). having spent the night in a
lodge, on the (.orders of 1'iwh I'ond, 'employed' for decoying! and ¡shooting
Bucks, I heard, about sunrise, the Yellow breasted Rails begin to
stir among the reeds (Armdo <Fhragmto») that thickly skirt this retired
border-of the take,: and in which, among' a host of' various -kinds of
Blackbirds, they had for sometime roosted every night. As soon as
awake, they called out a an abrupt and cackling cry,- Mrat,
'krtk, '/trek, 7-fflfc" k'kh. wliic-li note, apparently -from the, young, was
answered I.y the parent (probably the h.-u), in a lower-soothing note.
, if hei whole, of these uncouth and guttural notes 'have uo bad resemblance.
10 th« croaking of the tree frog, 'as «¡sound. This, call and answer,
Uttered every morning, is tliuS kept up for several minutes in various
tones; tin the whole family, ».para-ted for the - night, have met
and satisfactorily- recognised each other."
I once shot a female bird of this species near New Orleans upon
which I had nearly trodden as she -was on the nest and about to: lay .an
egg, and which she dropped as she flew before me, previously to my
touching the. trigger. In August and September I have found this
species uncommonly fat, and mcwi'delicious. The difficulty of procuring
. them, however, rondors them a rarity for the table even in those parts
,o£'the country where they aie mdst abundant.
I have.no doubt that «'few stragglers now' and then go far north to
breed, as I find in the Eatina' Boteali-Amerieana the following note
" from Mr Hutchinsismmutoipts':-i$ Thisslegant bird iS an inhabitants
®f; tlicmarshits (on the coast-of Hudson's Bay, near the efflux of
1 Severn River, where Mr Hutchins resided) from the middle of May to