156 British Birds, 



with finer materials within/' From seven to ten eggs 

 appears to be the number laid, and they vary very 

 much in their ground-colour, between a pale brown- 

 ish-dun and a slightly yellow-white, the spots or 

 blotches being of a reddish brown of some intensity. — 

 Fig. h, plate IX. 



LITTLE Q^hK^—{Porzana parva; formerly, 

 Crex pusilld). 



Olivaceous Gallinule, Little Gallinule. — Strictly 

 speaking, still a rare bird in this countryr 



BAILLON'S C:;KKKY.—{Porzana Baillonit ; 

 formerly, Crex Baillonit). 



More rare than the last, and, perhaps, occasionally 

 confused with it. 



WATER-RAIL— (ie«//^.r aquations). 



Bilcock, Skiddycock, Runner, Brook-runner, Velvet- 

 runner. — One of the very shiest of our British birds, 

 and thus seeming to be much more rare than it really 

 is. I have seen it at all seasons of the year, though 

 it is, I am well aware, less tolerant of cold than many 

 others of our winter-staying birds. Its motions on 

 the bank of a stream, when suddenly disturbed, are 

 much more like those of a Water Rat than a bird. It 

 ])reeds with some degree of commonness in several of 

 the southern counties. I obtained two nests from 

 the estate in Norfolk elsewhere mentioned in these 

 pages, at the same time with the Woodcock's eggs, 

 and was informed that it bred regularly there. I had 



