North American fauna . eole, Cameron Parish, on January 5, 1963. Between 5:30 and6 24 birds were counted along a 1-mile strip approximately 200yards wide (table 3). The dominant vegetation types in the area weresouthern bulrush and fall panicum (fig. 6). Soras were also abundantin the same habitat. SOUTHERN RIGEFIELDS The gradual shift in the domestic rice (Oryza sativa) growing in-dustry from the South Atlantic coast to the South Central States ofLouisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi after the Civil Waropened up a new marsh habitat for King Rails and other water of
North American fauna . eole, Cameron Parish, on January 5, 1963. Between 5:30 and6 24 birds were counted along a 1-mile strip approximately 200yards wide (table 3). The dominant vegetation types in the area weresouthern bulrush and fall panicum (fig. 6). Soras were also abundantin the same habitat. SOUTHERN RIGEFIELDS The gradual shift in the domestic rice (Oryza sativa) growing in-dustry from the South Atlantic coast to the South Central States ofLouisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi after the Civil Waropened up a new marsh habitat for King Rails and other water of the land where rice is grown today was once a vast naturaltall-grass prairie in which the Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanu-chus cupido) was abundant. Harmon, Thomas, and Glasgow (1960, ) reported that approximately 3 million acres in this area weredevoted to rice growing by 1958, and that this acreage wintered 4million ducks and geese. Many aquatic plants grow in ricefields, and NATURAL HISTORY OF THE KING RAIL 21. Figure 6.—Southern bulrush (Scirpus californicus), fall panicum {Panicumdichotomiflorum), and alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) in prairiemarsh type near Creole, Cameron Parish, La., January 5, 1965. Between 5 :30and 6 , January 5, 1963, 24 King Rails were counted along a 1-mile transectthrough this marsh. virtually all produce seeds utilized by a variety of water birds. Rice-fields furnish an optimum all-purpose habitat for King Rails fornearly 6 months during the summer half of the year, and a source offood for them in winter (fig. 7). On the gulf coast prairie of Louisiana and Texas, rice planting be-gins in March. Some early varieties are harvested by late July, butmost fields are harvested from early August to early October. Theplanting season in Arkansas is about 2 weeks later, and harvest isfrom late August to early November. The fields are irrigated by wellsor by canal systems fed from reservoirs or bayous. Water remains onthe fields for
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Keywords: ., bookauthorun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology
