. Bird-life; a guide to the study of our common birds . d produced by driving a stake in the mud. Torrey, one of the few ornithologists who hasobserved the bird while it was uttering these singularcries, tells us (The Auk, vi, 1889, p. 1) that they areattended by violent, convulsive movements of the headand neck, which suggest the contortions of a seasickperson, but that the birds bill is neither immersed inwater nor plunged in the mud, as has l)een popularlysupposed. CRANES, RAILS, ETC. (ORDER PALUDICOLiE.) Rails and Coots. (Family Rallid^.) Rails are marsh-inhabiting birds, more
. Bird-life; a guide to the study of our common birds . d produced by driving a stake in the mud. Torrey, one of the few ornithologists who hasobserved the bird while it was uttering these singularcries, tells us (The Auk, vi, 1889, p. 1) that they areattended by violent, convulsive movements of the headand neck, which suggest the contortions of a seasickperson, but that the birds bill is neither immersed inwater nor plunged in the mud, as has l)een popularlysupposed. CRANES, RAILS, ETC. (ORDER PALUDICOLiE.) Rails and Coots. (Family Rallid^.) Rails are marsh-inhabiting birds, more often heardthan seen. They are very reluctant to take wing, andwhen pursued seek safety by running or hiding ratherthan by flying. When flushed, they go but a short dis-tance, and with dangling legs soon drop back into thegrasses. Of the one hundred and eighty members of thisfamily, fourteen inhal)it North America and eight ^isitthe northeastern United States. Only three or four ofthese, however, are abundant, the most numerous and IrtbU \f B-as-; / !. Plate VII. AMERICAN , 2800 inches. A black streak on neck ; body brown and buff ; pri-maries slate-color. , SW inches. Adult, upper parts olive-brown, black, and white ;throat and face black, breast slate, belly white, flanks black and , similar, but face, throat, and breast white, washed with brownish. 99 loo BAILS AND COOT. generally distributed species being our Sora or CarolinaRail, so well known to sportsmen. This bird j^assesSora ^^^ ^ ^^^ spring in April and nests from Porznna Carolina. Massachusetts northward. It returnsPlate VII. jj^ August and lingers in our wild-rice marshes until October. During the nesting season ithas two calls—a whistled, her-wee, and a high, rolling■whinny. In the fall it utters a huh or i^^^^j^ when dis-turbed. There is no sexual dilference in color in this species,but birds of the year lack the black about the base ofthe l)ill and on the throat, and have t
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