402 BIRDS OF NORFOLK, 



for 1842j under date of August 23rd. " About ten days 

 since I received a specimen of that rare bird tbe Baillon's 

 Crake, killed near Yarmouth ; it is a fine male." Again, 

 in October, 1849, as Mr. Dowell informs me, lie and a 

 friend, when snipe shooting at Shropham and on Buck- 

 enham Fen, killed two of these crakes in the day. One, 

 unfortunately, was too much spoilt by the dog for pre- 

 servation, and the other he presented to the Eev. W. 

 W. Foley, of Brandon, in whose possession it still 

 remains. Although constantly shooting, however, in the 

 same neighbourhood over the small chain of fens which 

 border on the river Thet, he never met with another 

 specimen.* 



The discovery of the supposedf nest and eggs of 

 this bird, in Norfolk, in the summer of 1866, was 

 first announced in the "Zoologist" for that year (p. 

 389) by Mr. J. Overend, of Yarmouth, who, under 

 date of July 9th, states, " On the 9th of June a friend 

 of mine in this town was fortunate enough to obtain 

 in the market four eggs of Baillon's crake,{ and on 



* Two Suffolk examples of this crake are recorded by Messrs. 

 Sheppard and "WTiitear ; one taken near Beccles, and the other at 

 Nacton. 



t It should be borne in mind that although it has been 

 taken for granted, hitherto, that the Potter Heigham nests were 

 those of Baillon's crake, yet there is no positive evidence as to the 

 fact. From the number of instances of the occurrence of the little 

 crake, in Norfolk, it is quite possible the nests may have belonged 

 to that species, more especially since no less an authority in oolo- 

 gical matters than Mr. A. Newton, assures me he does not profess 

 to know the difference (if there be any) between the eggs of the 

 two species. In the case of the Cambridgeshire nest, as already 

 stated, a hen Baillon's crake was taken on one of them. 



J The only other recorded instance of the breeding of Baillon's 

 crake in England, is recorded by Mr. A. F. Sealy in the " Zoolo- 

 gist " for 1859 (p. 6329), in which year two nests were found in 

 the Cambridgeshire Fens ; one on the 6th of Jime containing six 

 eggs, and one in the first week in August, when the hen bird was 



