500 BAILLON S CRAKE. 



Swiss lakes ; but it is very irregularly distributed in Germany and 

 is unknown in the Baltic Provinces ; M. 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 as a straggler it has occurred in Madeira. In 

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

 has been obtained in Madagascar. Across temperate Asia it ranges 

 from the Caspian to Japan, nesting abundantly in Northern India ; 

 and during the cold season it visits Ceylon, the Andaman Islands 

 and Borneo. 



The nest, built among reeds or sedge in Europe, but usually in 

 rice-swamps in India, 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 

 darker blotches and streaks — sometimes almost umber-brown — 

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

 average 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 z. kek-kek-kek ; the 

 call-note therefore is similar to that of the preceding species. 

 Baillon's Crake, however, 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 rather 

 than take wing. The food consists of insects and their larvae, small 

 molluscs, and a little vegetable matter. 



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

 neck and upper parts generally, 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 lohite. Length 7 in. ; wing 3'5 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 

 the faintness of the 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, soon turning to grey in the males. 



