RAIL (OF. male, rasle, Fr. rd/c, rail, rattling in the throat, from OF. roller, Fr. ruler, to rattle iu the throat, from SlDutch ratelcn, Ger. rasseln, to rattle: connected with Gk. xpalialvetv, kra dainein, to swing: so called from its cry). A bird of the subfamily Rallimp, especially of the genus Rallus, related to the coots and gallinules, and more remotely to the cranes. Rails have a slender bill, usually longer than the head. the body of a very compressed form, wings of mod erate length, a short tail, long and strong legs, and long toes. The only European species is the common or water rail aguatieus), which dwells in marshes and the reedy margins of lakes and rivers. It is generally a bird of passage. breeding in the north, and migrating southward on the approach of winter. The bird is about inches long. The sexes are similar in plumage. olive brown, marked with black above; bluish ash color beneath, with white transverse markings on the belly. The water rail feeds on worms, mollusks, and soft vegetable substances. It is in high esteem for the table.
In the United States six or seven species are known. The Virginia rail (Minus Virginianus) is numerous in many parts of the Eastern States, but not often seen. because of its great shyness. It is rather smaller than the water rail of Eu rope, but much resembles it in appearance, haunts, and habits, which are those of the rails in general. (See Colored Plate of GAME BIRDS ac companying article GROUSE and also Colored Plate Of EGGS OF GAME AND WATER BIRDS.) The king rail, or fresh-water marsh-hen elegans) is a mueh larger bird, inhabiting marshes throughout the Eastern United States, while the clapper-rail, or salt-water marsh-hen (llallas erepitans), is ex tremely abundant in the salt-water marshes of the Atlantic Coast. Each of these is about 15 inches long, and both are shot in great numbers for the table, while their eggs are also regarded as a delicacy. The mangrove-ben (Rallus longiros
tris) is a similar species of the West Indies; and a close ally (Banns obsoletus) belongs to Cali fornia. All these species are much alike in the compressed shape of the body, long bill, and large feet. The prevailing colors are olive, gray, fuscous, cinnamon-brown, black, and white; the sides and under parts are handsomely barred. The name `rail' is often given to certain Ameri can coots, and is universally extended to those rail-like birds of the genus Po•zana which in habit drier lands, and in England are called crakes (q.v.). The most abundant and best known of these is the sora, or Carolina rail (Por :ana Carolina), which is a favorite object of sport, with dogs. in the Southern States. Two other species, the yellow and the black rails, occur in Eastern North America. The latter is rare and remarkable for its diminutive size, dark color, and seclusive habits.
The rails form a highly generalized family, with a numerous fossil ancestry going back to the Eocene. They are distributed throughout the world, and many peculiar forms are or were inhabitants of the East Indian and South Sea islands. Ilany of these were restricted to one group or even to a single island, and had lost the use of their wings long before they became known to ornithologists; they were thus defense less and several species have become extinct. Prominent examples are the genus Notornis of the New Zealand region, and the strange little wingless rail of Tristan trAcunha. Consult: Evans, Birds (London, 1900) ; Newton. Diction ary of Birds (New York, 1896) ; and for the American species general works, especially Job, Among the Water Fond (New York, 1902). See FLIGHTLESS Bums; EXTINCT ANIMALS; WEnA; and Plate of RAILS, ETC.