Tlic Rails. 



229 



THE 



LAND-RAIL. 



[Crcx crcx.) 



The Water- Rail is found in marsh}- locaUties throughout the whole of Great 

 Britain, but is somewhat rarer in Scotland. It is also an inhabitant of the rest of 

 Europe, excepting the more northern portions, and extends to Central Asia. It 

 is a sh)' bird, and takes to flight unwillingl}', preferring to escape by running, 

 which it does most deftly, threading its way like a rat through the mazes of the 

 reed-bed. The nest is rather neatly made of sedge and leaves of reeds, and lined 

 with slender reeds : it is built in a clump of rushes about a foot above the ground, 

 and the eggs vary from five to eleven in number. They are of a creamy stone- 

 colour, with rufous spots and grey underlying ones, and measure about an inch-and- 

 a-half in length. 



This is one of the 

 short-billed Rails, and 

 is generally known as 

 the ' Corn-Crake.' It is 

 distinguished from the Water-Rail by its 

 shorter bill and by the colour of the 

 plumage, which is brown, streaked with 

 black, while the wing-coverts and primarj' 

 quills are bright chestnut : the ear-coverts, 

 lower throat and chest are ashy-grey. 



The Land-Rail is found throughout 

 Great Britain in summer, and extends its 

 range over the greater part of Europe to 

 Central Asia and Siberia as far as the 

 valley of the Lena. It occasionally 



straggles to Greenland and the Eastern States of North America, and visits South 

 Africa in winter. Its nest is placed on the ground in hay-fields and corn-lands, 

 and the eggs are from seven to ten in number, of a huffish clay-colour, with rufous 

 and grey spots : they measure about an inch-and-a-half in length. 



The sexes in this species are different in colour, and the 

 middle toe is longer than in the Land-Rail, the wing is more 

 pointed, and the secondaries are much shorter than the 

 primaries. The male is ochreous brown, with black streaks 

 on the upper surface, and the lower parts of the body are ash}' grey, with a few 

 white bars on the flanks, while the under tail-coverts are white, tinged with ochre 

 and barred with black. The female is browner, with the chest and throat white, 

 and the rest of the under surface pale vinaceous isabelline. The length of the 

 species is seven inches, and the wing four inches. 



The Little Crake is only an occasional visitor to Great Britam in spring and 

 autumn. It is an inhabitant of Central Europe, and is found in Russia and 

 Central Asia. It winters in Equatorial Africa and North-western India. The habits 



The Land-Rail. 



THE 

 LITTLE CRAKE. 

 {Zaf'oniia farva.) 



