American Ornithology Vol. VII, Plate 62

This plate depicts: a Virginian Rail, a Clapper Rail, a Blue Crane, and a Little Egret.

According to Audubon: "Like other rails, the Virginia Rail prefers to escape intruders by running through protective marsh vegetation rather than by flying. When it does take wing, it often flies only a few yards before slipping back out of sight into the marsh." http://birds.audubon.org/birds/virginia-rail