Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-11-13
AbsuG sssa.

To the Editor Of ne Dispatch
Whenever sofa are In season one y ap, "
hear various expressions OF curiosity and
woudermeut In regard the mystery which
"a supposed 20 attend the movements OF
these delicious little birds. very briei
account OF their nature and habits, taken
from GOOD authorities, may therefore be mol
unintcresting.
FOLLOWING the most recent nomencl'-
ture. the bird IL designated and described
by Professor Baird and by Captain Coues
As follows:
PoRzAnA CAROLINA, CABASIs: CORONA
kaA, Soro. OrtoIdn.
DEsCRIPII0N.-Spacea around pase Oh tue
bill excluding downwards on TIE neck,
before and over the top OF the head, black.
Ndie: Upper parts greenish brown, with
longitudinal bands OF black ana many
feathers having narrow stripes OF wnne on
their edges. Behind the eye. sidei
Of The neck, and The breast fine bluish-ashy.
With circular spots and transverse hands OF
white on the breast; middle OF the sbdo'
men and under tail coyerts white; sidet
and tanks with transverse bands OF brown
in black aud white. Bill greenish yellow
legs dark green. Female: Simil1s, but
duller In coiors.
HABITAT Entire temperate. North
America; especially abundant along the
Atlantic coast during the migraiions.
Breeds from the middle districts north.
ward. Winters in the southern States and
beyond.
Ithas been found In the Missouri region,
in Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Utah, and
California, but nowhere In such numbers
as sIong the Atlantic coast.
The migratory movements OF these birds
seems 10 have. been attended with mystery
second only 10 that which formerly attlched
| 10 migration Of swallows, when II was stu
| debatable whether the latter migrated OF
hibernated-a question which was gravely
discussed by White, OF Selborne, and his
contemporaries.
OF our bird Wilson, In his American
Ornotho!Ogy, says;
"The natural history OF the rail, or. ~ II
is called IN Virginia, the sora, and In North
Carolina the coot, Is 10 the most Of ouI
spoItsmen involved in profound mystery.
Ii CONES they know not whence; and goes
they know not where. No one can detect
their first moment OF arrival; yet all al
once the reedy shores and grassy marshes
OF our large riye.s swarm With them.
When they venture on wing they seem 10
fly so feebIy and IN such short 1utterint
fights among The reeds. as 10 render II
highly improbable 10 most people that they
could possibly make their way over an eX-
tensiye tract Of country. Yet, on the first
smart frost that occurs the whole suddenly
disappear as il they had never been.
40 account for these extraordinary
phenomena il has been supposed by some
that they bury themselves IN the mud. but
as none OF the sleepers have ever been
found where but few weeks before these
birds were innumerable. this theory has
been generally abandoned. And here re-
searches into this mysterious matter usually
end in the common exclamation OF, whit
can become of them!' Some profound
inquiIers. however. not discouraged with
these difficulties, have prosecuted Their
researches with more success, and
one OF these, living few years
ago near the mouth OF james river.
where the rall or sOra are extremely nu-
merous. has (as | was informed on the
spot lately discovered that they change into
frogs. having himself found an animal OF
an extraordinary kind that appeared 10 be
neither cora nor frog, but something be
lived three days. and, in his own opinion,
il looked like nothing in this world but a
real sOra changing into frog. What fur
lECr confirms this grand discovery /. the
well-knOwn circumstance Of the frogs
Ceasing to hollow as soon as the sOTa comes
in the fall. But this sagacious discOyercr'.
opinion has found few supporters"
Wilson then goes on 10 explain that
. ..,, # H.. Ia.t
aIed general observation, that these mi
grations do actually take place Is amply
proven. lie shot them near savannah,
Ga. in February. and in MAY rear Phila-
dclphia. and he also informs ms that thev
arrived at Hudson's bay early in June and
leave for the South early in autumn. They
also breed III the meadows that border the
schuylkill and Delaware, and their young
are occasionally seen there in moving
time. Captain Coues saws that he has taken
them in Montana in the breeding season,
They are numerous in the lagoons neat
Detroit and on Lake 1t. Clair, aud when
found ihere in no wise differ from those
that are found on The Atlantic coast, being
equally fat and exquisite eating.
Mr.. George Ord, OF Philadelphia, cor
respondent Of Wilson's, sends a curious
account OF these birds. asserting that they
are subject 10 gusts OF temper so violent a'
10 produce disease similar 10 epilepsy
He also saws that the sora dive and conceal
themselves beneath fallen reeds, merely
projecting their heads above the surface OF
the water for air. aud remain in that posi-.
tiou until the hunter has passed them, and
it is q common practice with them when
wounded TO dive to the bottom and, hold
ing on by some root, stay until exhausted.
But etls and catfish arc on the alert FOL
their prey. and il is ben 10 one II tLt
wounded bird escapes them.
The rail is not a swimming bird properly
speaking. showing very slight signs OF
wcb.i0Ot, Only a margin or fringe along the
toes. Nevertheless II swims from choice,
~ well as necessity, and swims very wei
for short distances. As before stated
tier flight il 80 poor * 10 make their eX'
tensiye migrations matter Of surprise
That they are good walkers Is shown by d
glance at their strong legs, a. well as by
the case with which they run among the
closG-set reeds when Gliding the sports
mana manTuyre which Is facilitated 10y
the remarkable compression OF BODY which
is 40 noticeable that, as DR.. COues remarks,
"the expression thin as a rail reivfs "a
these birds. and not TO what fences are made
~ nj least. il IL dOpSu'f il MIGHT