Читать книгу Birds of Manitoba - Ernest Thompson Seton - Страница 66

Table of Contents

Winnipeg: Common summer resident (Hine). ? Nest found at Carberry (Thompson).

The fine specimen of this bird in Manitoba Museum, taken at Reaburn, where, Mr. Hine says, it is plentiful. It is, no doubt, more common in this country than is generally supposed; for, as Dr. Coues remarks, “their habit of skulking and hiding in the most inaccessible places they frequent, renders them difficult of observation, and they are usually considered rarer than they really are.” The call of this species is rendered “crik-cuk-rik-k-k-k.” It is said to be partially nocturnal.

A nest was brought to me from a slough near Carberry, July 30, 1884. It was found in a tussock of coarse grass, and was built of dry stems of the same; the eggs, eight in number, were quite fresh, and differed from those of the Carolina Rail only in being of a lighter color, and with reddish instead of umber spots, and chiefly about the large end; one was 1¼ by 15/16, the others similar. The nest was of rushes and built precisely like that of the Carolina bird, but it was situated rather in a damp meadow than in a marsh. I did not see the bird, but have little doubt that it was the present species.

Mr. Nash sends the following note: “It haunts low ground like the rest of the order, but, so far as I have seen, they never go into deep-water marshes; in fact, they keep where there are bushes and low trees—alders, willows, and the like; and, when flushed, instead of taking to the rushes, they invariably fly in amongst the bushes.”