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. ROCKY-MOUNTAIN PLOVER. _CHARADRIUS MONTANUS_, TOWNSEND. PLATE CCCL. FEMALE. For the following brief account of this bird, I am indebted to my learned and obliging friend, THOMAS NUTTALL.