Birds of America
By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.
VOLUME V.
FAMILY XXXIII.--RALLINAE. RAILS.
Bill moderately stout, or slender, short or elongated, compressed, with the
point narrow, but obtuse. Head small, oblong, compressed; neck of moderate
length; body large, much compressed. Feet large; tibia bare at the lower part;
tarsus stout, compressed, with very broad anterior scutella; toes very long,
scutellate, marinate; hind toe rather short. Claws long, little arched,
compressed, acute. Plumage blended, but stiffish. Wings short, convex,
rounded; tail very short, rounded. Tongue slender, channelled above, tapering
to a bristly point; oesophagus long, rather narrow; proventriculus bulbiform;
stomach roundish, compressed, very muscular, with the lateral and inferior
muscles prominent, the epithelium dense, with two flattish grinding surfaces;
intestine long, of moderate width; coeca long, narrowed toward the base; cloaca
globular. Trachea simple, flattened, with a pair of slender inferior laryngeal
muscles. Nest bulky, and rudely constructed, on the ground, or supported by
grass, or on trees. Eggs numerous, oblong. Young covered with stiffish black
down.