Adult Male. Plate CCCXLIX. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, rather stout, compressed, tapering. Upper mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight, being slightly convex toward the end, the ridge narrow and convex in its whole length, the sides convex towards the end, the edges sharp, the tip rather acute. Nasal groove extending to a little beyond the middle of the bill; nostrils linear, lateral, submedial, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and narrow, the sides erect, the dorsal line sloping upwards, the edges a little inflected, the tip narrowed, the gape line straight.
Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Neck shortish. Body compact, deeper than broad. Feet of moderate length, rather slender; tibia bare a short way above the joint; tarsus of ordinary length, compressed anteriorly covered with broad scutella, posteriorly with smaller, and on the sides reticulated. Hind toe small and very slender; middle toe longest, and longer than the tarsus; inner toe considerably shorter than the outer; toes free, with numerous scutella above. Claws of moderate length, compressed, slightly arched, acute.
Plumage blended, slightly glossy above. Wings short and broad; tapering, rounded, the first and second nearly equal and longest. Tail very short, much rounded, of twelve feeble rounded feathers; the upper and lower tail-coverts nearly as long as the tail-feathers.
Bill black. Iris red. Feet bright yellowish-green, claws dusky. The head and all the lower parts are very dark purplish-grey, on the upper part of the head approaching to black, on the fore part of the neck faintly undulated with paler, on the sides and hind parts barred with greyish-white; the lower wing-coverts barred with grey and white; the lower tail-coverts of the latter colour. The hind neck and fore part of the back dark chestnut; the rest of the back and tail-coverts greyish-black, transversely barred with white. Wing-coverts and inner secondaries reddish-brown, with white spots; the other quills more dusky. The tail-feathers also reddish-brown, barred with dusky and marked with white spots.
Length to end of tail 6 inches; wing from flexure 3 7/8; tail 1 1/16; bill along the ridge 1/2, along the edge of lower mandible 4 1/2/8; bare part of tibia 1/4; tarsus 1; hind toe and claw 1/2; middle toe and claw 1, outer toe and claw 7/8; inner toe and claw 5/8.
Young a few days old. Plate CCCXLIX. Fig. 2.
While yet covered with down, the young is black all over; the bill bright yellow, with the point of the upper mandible, and a band across the middle of the lower, black; the feet dull yellowish-green, the claws dusky.
Since the above was written, I have received a letter from my friend J. Trudeau, M. D., in which he says that his father shot a considerable number of these Rails last winter in the vicinity of New Orleans.