. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. SORA Their peculiar flight maltes tliem easy targets for gunners nests are little platforms of dry grass or rush leaves, quite well hollowed. Sometimes they are in a cluster of reeds or rushes, a little above the level of the water, or under a thick tussock of meadow grass. Rut, after much searching. I found that the more typical location, both for the Sora and the \"irginia Rail, was just out of the bog, in open meadow, where, on comparatively finn ground, rather short meadow-grass grew from just a little water.
. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. SORA Their peculiar flight maltes tliem easy targets for gunners nests are little platforms of dry grass or rush leaves, quite well hollowed. Sometimes they are in a cluster of reeds or rushes, a little above the level of the water, or under a thick tussock of meadow grass. Rut, after much searching. I found that the more typical location, both for the Sora and the \"irginia Rail, was just out of the bog, in open meadow, where, on comparatively finn ground, rather short meadow-grass grew from just a little water. There the Rails con- structed a little pile or island of grass, raised slightly above the water. The stems of the rather sparse grass held it together, and the ends were twisted and tied by the birds to form over it a sort of rounded canopy. In walking over the meadow I learned to find nests by noting this arching of the grass, even at some distance. Rails are nocturnal, and toward dusk one may watch them at the edges of the bog trotting out to feed. Their migrations are quite mysterious. Some frosty morning the meadows suddenly are found to be alive with them. Then the gunners get their innings. In some localities, such as the meadows along the Connecticut River, near its mouth. Rail shooting becomes a regular industry. At high tide boatmen pole flat skiffs through the grass. The Rails flutter up with their character- istic , making easy marks. In Louisiana I found this species common in winter on the marshes back from the Gulf coast, on the reservations. Toward evening I could \\atch them from the windows of our camp, as well as during cloudy days. They came out from the reeds and fed on the rice which we scattered, sometimes venturing even under the house. Herkert K. Job. t^"^ 1. Piioto by H. K. Jub NEST AND EGGS OF SORA YELLOW RAIL Coturnicops noveboracensis .\. O. U. Number 215 Other Names.— Little Yellow Rail; Yellow Crake. General Description.— Length. 7
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Keywords: ., bookauthorpearsont, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1923
