EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 85 



but its range does not extend north of the Baltic, and its 

 occurrence in the Baltic Provinces appears to be doubtful. In 

 Eastern Russia it breeds as far north as lat. 56°. 



The breeding-season of Baillon's Crake commences late in 

 May or early in June. The nest is generally placed amongst the 

 aquatic vegetation on the banks of a pool or stream, and is made 

 of sedge, dry leaves, and grasses : it is rather large, loosely put 

 together, but not badly made. 



The eggs of Baillon's Crake are from five to eight in number, 

 six being the average clutch. They are oval in form, and rather 

 glossy : in ground-colour they vary from pale olive to rich buff, 

 profusely but indistinctly spotted, blotched, freckled, and mottled, 

 with olive-brown and dull violet-grey. On some eggs the mark- 

 ings are more confluent than on others, and mostly to be seen 

 at the larger end. They vary from 12 to 11 inch in length, and 

 from 09 to 0'8 inch in breadth. It is almost impossible to dis- 

 tinguish with certainty the eggs of this species from those of 

 the Little Crake, but, as a rule, they are slightly smaller. 



THE LITTLE CRAKE. 

 (Crex parva.)* 



Plate 22, Fig. 6. 



The Little Crake is a rare visitor to our islands on spring and 

 autumn migration. It is not impossible that some remain to 

 breed, but no evidence of the fact is as yet forthcoming. It is 

 locally distributed in Central and Southern Europe, and is found 

 as far to the eastward as Turkestan and Afghanistan. 



The nest is generally very carefully concealed among the reeds 

 and rushes that grow in the bird's swampy haunts. Sometimes 

 it is built on a large mass of decaying reeds which have been laid 

 by the wind, and is placed at a height of a few inches to a foot or 

 more above the surface of the water. It is rather large for the 

 size of the bird, very flat, and somewhat loosely put together. It 

 is generally made of bits of flags, leaves of the common reed, 

 coarse grass, and scraps of other aquatic vegetation. 



The eggs of the Little Crake are seven or eight in number, pale 

 yellowish-brown in ground-colour, indistinctly but evenly marbled 



* Porzana parva — Saunders, Manual, p. 497. 



