RALLIDiE. 239 



Family Kallid^.. 



Landrail, Crex j'^'fcitensis. A few are occa- 

 sionally met with near the Downs on their arrival 

 in April, at which time they are lean and in bad 

 condition. Rarely found here during the breeding 

 season. At the period of the autumnal migration 

 they are not infrequent, more especially on the 

 arable portion of the Downs. They are often 

 flushed by sportsmen during September in clover 

 fields, and are then excessively fat and highly 

 prized by epicures. 



Mr. Yarrell records an instance of two shooters 

 in the neighbourhood of Battle, in this county, 

 killing "fifteen couple of landrails in one day, 

 and seven couple the next day/' This of course 

 was an unusual occurrence. 



Spotted Crake, Crex porzana. Arrives from 

 the Continent about the latter end of March or 

 early in April, and examples have at that period 

 been occasionally taken in an exhausted state, 

 within the precincts of the town of Brighton. 

 After a dark stormy night, in the spring of 1841, 

 a spotted crake was found alive in tlie church- 

 yard of Trinity Chapel, probably attracted — like 

 many other migratory birds which have been 



