282 ENGLISH BIRD LIFE 



extended flight is proved by the fact that it not 

 unfrequently rests upon ships a hundred miles or 

 more from the nearest land. 



The nest of the Corncrake is formed of dry grass, 

 and the eggs, seven to ten in number, are of a 

 brownish-white spotted and blotched with red and 

 grev. When hatched, the young are covered with 

 black down. 



Three other species of Crake — the Spotted, Little 

 and Baillon's Crake — occur at times in England. 

 Of these the first is the least uncommon, but the 

 appearance of all is rare and irregular. 



