400 Mr. J. H. Gurney on the 



hours before ; the h\n\ is known there by the honourable title 

 of " King of the Quails/^ as its arrival coincides with theirs. 



Water-Rail. Rallus aquaticus. 



Three " Rales d'eau '' in Grasse market on March 20th, 

 the month of their arrival as given by Duval-Jouve, who 

 was no doubt familiar enough with this market, where 

 there was also a Fulica atra on the 23rd, which had perhaps 

 missed, its way, for Duval-Jouve says it is found at that 

 season in ditches. 



[Brazilian Jacana. Parrajacana. 



M. Jaubert informs us in his 'List' (/. c. p. 426) that 

 there was in 1853, in the collection of M. Jouffret, a South- 

 American Jacana which had been taken alive in the marshes 

 at Frejus, and had been recently mounted when lie examined 

 it. No further facts are given in ' Les Richesses Ornitho- 

 logiques ' {vide ■^. 486), but there is nothing impossible in 

 P. jacana, which is known to be a migratory species, crossing 

 the Atlantic by the help of a ship. All the group are 

 wanderers, and the fact is not much more remarkable than 

 the capture of Allen's Porphyrio 700 miles from the African 

 coast (P. Z. S. 1900, p. 660), or of three Belted Kingfishers 

 in Ireland and Holland. A bird on the wing is, under 

 favourable circumstances, nearly as much at rest as when 

 it is standing, the real difficulty is to know how such 

 wanderers as these subsist without food for the time required 

 for the transit.] 



Crane. Grus communis. 



The distribution of the Crane is curious. Twice a year, it 

 is said, phalanges of " Grues " pass over the Var, so high 

 that they are scarcely visible ; and the question is, M'here 

 are they going? Their destination is probably rather N.E. 

 than N. in spring. M. Ternier thinks that when the Crane 

 reaches the Var on its return journey to the south in autumn 

 it turns to the west ; and if so, no doubt it continues in a 

 westerly direction along the line of the Pyrenees (Ornis, x. 

 p. 210). It seems clear that the extraordinary numbers seen 

 in Spain by Col. Irby do not all come to France. 



