336 THE NESTS AXD EGGS OE BRITISH BIRDS. 



distributed. It psrhaps breeds most frequently in the 

 low-lying eastern counties between the fl umber and the 

 Thames ; less commonly it is however known to do so 

 in Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, and Notts. In 

 Wales among other localities the marshes of Breconshire 

 may be mentioned. North of the Border it breeds in 

 Dumfries-shire, and thence locally through the eastern 

 counties to at least as far north as the Moray Firth. In 

 Ireland it has been known to breed in Co. Roscommon, 

 and probably does so in Co. Kerry. 



Breeding habits : The Spotted Crake is a summer 

 migrant to the British Islands, arriving in May, but a 

 few individuals winter with us, probably from more 

 northern lands. The breeding-haunts of this bird are 

 marshes and the reed- and sedge-fringed margins of 

 lakes, broads, and pools. It is a most skulking species, 

 undoubtedly much overlooked, and regarded as rarer 

 than it really is. In spite of the fact that numbers of 

 nests may be found within small area, especially where 

 the birds are plentiful, I do not think the Spotted Crake 

 can be classed as gregarious or even social during the 

 breeding season. It appears to pair annually, and to 

 keep much to one particular haunt until the young are 

 hatched. The nest is usually made amongst reeds, or in 

 the centre of a hassock of sedge. It is a bulky structure 

 standing well above the water, and built up from the 

 bottom. It is made of decaying flags, reeds, bits of 

 sedge, and other aquatic herbage, and the shallow 

 cavity at the top is more neatly lined with dry grass 

 and bits of finer reed and flag. The bird sits rather 

 closely, but generally manages to slip off the nest unseen 

 before the intruder reaches its immediate vicinity. It 

 makes little or no demonstration at the nest. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement: 

 The eggs of the Spotted Crake are from eight to twelve 



