106 THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 
the centre of a bog, and they greatly 
frequent this part. The flight of the 
Spotted Crake varies greatly, sometimes, 
like the Moorhen, flapping slowly out 
with its legs hanging straight down; 
at another time tucking them up under 
their bodies, and flying with all the 
speed of, and very similar to, a Quail, 
and the more the autumnal season 
advances the stronger I fancy they fly. 
I have never seen but one after October 
here, and that was I think in the latter 
end of November, on the Onllwyn bog. 
I once had one alive in my hand, a 
winged bird that my dog caught before 
it could escape into the reeds; its eye 
was a brilliant olive-green, and exactly 
matched the colour of its legs. I 
mention this because bird-stufters invari- 
ably return you the bird with a red eye; 
this the bird never has but I think pro- 
bably the colour of the eye may vary 
from that found in birds of the year to 
possibly hazel in older birds. For in- 
stance the colour of the eye of the young 
Moorhen is for the first six months, when 
it is in its brown plumage nearly the 
colour of its leg, but this afterwards 
changes to red in the grown up bird and 
eS eee 
