5T4 13AILL0N S CRAKE. 



was, indeed, plentiful in Brabant until the fact became known to 

 collectors. It nests sparingly in Normandy and is numerous in the 

 marshy districts of the Lower Loire, as well as in the Rhone valley, 

 and round some of the Swiss lakes ; but it is very irregularly 

 distributed in Germany and unknown in the Baltic Provinces. 

 Taczanowski does not mention its occurrence in Poland, and Mr. 

 W. E. Clarke did not find it in Slavonia, though it appears to be a 

 regular visitor to Lower Hungary, the Black Sea district, and Russia 

 up to about 56° N. lat. It nests in Portugal and Spain, as well as 

 in Northern Italy, while on migration it is found throughout the 

 basin of the Mediterranean, and reaches the Canaries and Madeira. 

 In Africa it is widely diffused, breeding as far south as Natal, and 

 it has been obtained in Madagascar. In Asia it is found as far east 

 as the Persian Gulf, beyond which it is replaced by P. pusilla, 

 distinguishable by a brown stripe through the eye and ear-coverts. 



The nest, built among reeds or sedge, is similar to that of a 

 Moor-hen, and large for the size of the bird ; the eggs, 6-8 in 

 number, are olive-brown with umber blotches and streaks, darker, 

 as a rule, and rather smaller than in those of the Little Crake : 

 measurements i in. by "8 in. A nestling found by Mr. W. C. Tait 

 in June is described as shiny black, with a yellowish bill and 

 greenish slate-coloured legs. It uttered a low piping cry, which 

 was answered by the parent bird close by with a kek-kek-kek. 

 Baillon's Crake usually frequents small marshes and pools, 

 especially where there is a fringe of tamarisk or other bushes, 

 and appears to be less partial to meres and open waters than the 

 Little Crake. Evening and day-break are almost the only times 

 when it is to be seen, and if disturbed it runs like a water-rat in 

 preference to taking wing. The food consists of insects and their 

 larv?e, small molluscs, and a little vegetable matter. 



The adult male has the bill green, base red ; irides red ; crown, 

 hind neck and upper parts warm brown, with flecks of black and 

 white ; cheeks, throat and breast slate-grey ; flanks and under tail- 

 coverts conspicuously barred with black and white ; outer web of 

 first primary white. Length 7 in. ; wing 3-45 in. The female has 

 the chin nearly white ; the under parts paler grey ; the wing-coverts 

 more profusely spotted with white, and the neck streaked with dark 

 brown on a paler ground than in the male. The young bird (in the 

 background) resembles her in the colour of the upper parts, and in 

 having a fainter white line on the outer web of the first primary ; 

 the throat is white, and the under parts are barred with two shades 

 of brown, these soon turning to grey in the males. 



