baillon's crake. 323 



The crown of the mature bird is dark brown, and the upper 

 parts are chestnut, streaked with black and speckled with 

 white ; the under parts and the side of the face are greyer, and 

 the spots are most abundant on the face and neck. The outer 

 web of the first primary is white, and the flanks are barred with 

 brown and white. The bill is yellow, red at the base ; the legs 

 are yellowish green and the irides reddish brown. The chins 

 of immature birds are whitish and the spots are less plentiful. 

 Length, 9 ins. Wing, 475 ins. Tarsus, 1*25 ins. 



Carolina Crake. Porzana Carolina (Linn.). 



The Sora, the American name for this rail, breeds in 

 Canada and the northern States, and winters in Central and 

 South America. It has been noticed as an accidental autumnal 

 visitor to Greenland, and some five birds have, apparently, 

 taken an eastward as well as southern course and reached the 

 British Isles. The earlier records are from Berkshire and 

 Glamorgan, but recent examples were obtained in the Hebrides 

 and Ireland. The mature Sora has a black forehead, face, 

 chin, and throat, and its upper parts are streaked rather than 

 spotted with white. The cheeks, neck, and breast are blue- 

 grey and unspotted, and the flanks are barred with black and 

 white. The bill, legs, and irides are much as in the Spotted 

 Crake. Length, 7-5 ins. Wing, 4*2 ins. Tarsus, 1-3 ins. 



Baillon's Crake. Porzana pusilla intermedia (Herm.). 



The two small crakes are frequently confused, and many 

 early records of the Little Crake doubtless refer to this species, 

 which, though uncommon, is less rare. Baillon's Crake 

 (Plate 140) is a central and southern European species, and 

 also occurs in Africa and western Asia, the eastern form being 

 P. p. pusilla (Pallas). In the northern part of its range it is 



