Notes on the courtship behavior of the king rail

The King Rail (Rallus elegans) has been well known to collectors, hunters, and bird watchers ever since its discovery by Audubon in the early 1800's but few detailed behavior studies have been made of this species.

The present paper, the third in a series based on observations in the rice fields of eastern Arkansas (Meanley, 1953 and 1956), presents information concerning the courtship behavior of this rail.