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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, November 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 12, 2004 Since you asked ‘Thin as a rail’ comes from bird Where does the expression "thin as a rail" come from, and what does it mean? — Ron B., Medford. The word gurus at stately Since You Asked Headquarters came up blank on this one, Bob, and we were forced to turn to the SYA Ornithology Division for help. Rails are secretive, highly elusive birds that live in wetland marshes. The birds are so difficult to see even most birders seldom spot them. The yellow rail is said to be the most difficult North American bird to see. In the rail’s tool kit for remaining unseen is the unusual talent of making itself skinny by sort of sucking itself in. Seen head-on (which is unlikely), rails can actually narrow themselves as they glide about through sedges and cattails. Audubon described it in 1842 in his pioneering "Birds of America" like this: "On the least appearance of danger, they lower the head, stretch out the neck, and move off with incomparable speed, always in perfect silence ... they have a power of compressing their body to such a degree as frequently to force a passage between two stems so close that one could hardly believe it possible for them to squeeze themselves through." Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities