694 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XII. 



grass or paddy within a few feet, but it is only now and again that one can 

 without a dog, put up a bird. 



This rail breeds more or less throughout the year. I have kn,own of nest-s 

 in June, July and November in the Andamans, and took a nest on Car 

 Nicobar on August 30th. I also caught several very small chicks of this 

 species in September and October. The nest is a mere pad of grass, &c., 

 placed anywhere in thick grass or herbage, either in the open or in jungle ; 

 the eggs, 7 or 8 in number, are pinkish stone-colour, spotted and blotched 

 with brownish-red of two shades, dark and light, with a few underlying 

 markings of greyish-purple. One egg, among a normally marked clutch, was 

 white, sparingly spotted with pale purplish-grey and a few spots of purplish- 

 brown, all the markings on this rather handsome variety being very small. 

 Five eggs measured ItVx lA ; l^X IjV i ^l X ItV ; l^X l^v ; If X Ixe- 



The chick is covered with black down ; iris greyish-brown ; bill blackish ; 

 legs and feet dark brown. The first feathers which appear are the grey 

 feathers of the breast. When caught the chick keeps up an incessant plain- 

 tive call note, half whisper and half whistle. 



1393. PoRZANA I'USILLA, Pall. Blanf.,IV, p. 165 ; •' Str. Feath.," II, p. 301. 



The pretty httle Baillon's Crake is very rarely met with in the Andamans, 

 though, perhaps, it is not really uncommon. I only came across it once, when 

 I found a pair frequenting the rank herbage growing round a stagnant pool 

 near some cattle sheds. One of the birds was swimming along on the filthy 

 ink-black water, jerking its tail like a little water-hen. I beat the cover 

 through and shot one, a beautiful little specimen, but the other gave rather 

 a long shot and with a "410 bore only I managed to miss it. Their flight is 

 more quail-like than that of any other small rail I know. 



Davison only met with it once, at Port Mouat. 



1397. Rallina canningi, Tytler. Blanf., IV, p. 169 ; "Str. Feath.," II 

 pp. 302 and 500 ; Hume and Marsh., ' Game Birds,' II, p. 241. 



In 1874 Mr. Hume wrote : " This large and handsome rail is either excess- 

 ively rare or else conceals itself so elt'ectually as to be very seldom seen. 



. . . We never saw the bird, and Davison, who made special exertions 

 to secure a specimen, only once caught sight of it,'' 



I did my best to learn all I could about this lovely rail while I was in 

 the Andamans. For six weeks after my arrival I saw nothing of the bird, 

 though I kept the keenest look-out for it. Then one morning I was standing 

 on a narrow muddy track in thick jungle and had just changed my gun for 

 a butterfly net, when I saw one of the much-sought rails standing in the path 

 not more than eight yards off, looking at me intently. I stretched my hand 

 out to the convict behind me and clicked my lingers for my gun, but just as 

 I got hold of it the rail was off into cover. And the right barrel was 

 loaded with the lightest charge of dust shot, that would have killed him 

 beautifully at the distance ! Next morning I revisited the same place, but 



