NON-JNDIGENO US BRITISH- BIRDS. 331 



containing the eggs being shallow, and lined with rush- 

 leaves or dry coarse grass. The bird sits very warily, 

 slipping quietly off into the adjoining belts of reeds or 

 into the water with little or no demonstration of anxiety. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Little Crake are seven or eight in 

 number. They are somewhat elliptical in shape, smooth 

 in texture, yellowish-brown in ground colour, marbled 

 and indistinctly blotched with olive-brown, and occa- 

 sionally speckled with very dark brown. Occasionally 

 the markings, instead of being uniformly distributed 

 over the surface of the Qgg, are most numerous on 

 the major half, or form an ill-defined cap on the larger 

 end. Average measurement, r2 inch in length, by '85 

 inch in breadth. Incubation is performed by the female, 

 and lasts from twenty-one to twenty-four days. 



Diagnostic characters : The eggs of this Crake 

 require careful identification, as they very closely resemble 

 those of Baillon's Crake, only differing in being slightly 

 larger. 



Family COLUMBID.F:. Genus Turtur. 



EASTERN TURTLE DOVE. 



TuRTUR ORiENTALis {Latham). 



(British : Very rare abnormal autumn migrant.) 



Double Brooded. Laying season, May to August. (December 

 to March, Central Provinces of India.) 



Breeding area : North-western Oriental region and 

 South-eastern Palaearctic region. The breeding area of 

 the Eastern Turtle Dove is most imperfectly defined, 

 owing partly to the confusion existing between this 



