SPOTTED CllAKE. 145 



beyond the Firth of Clyde. In the Orkney Islands, accord- 

 ing to Messrs. Baikie and Heddle, it has been observed, 

 though rarely, on Sanda ; and quite recently it has been 

 recorded from the Shetlands (Zool. 1882, jj. 21). In 

 Ireland it appears to be an occasional summer visitant, 

 probably more common than is supposed : nests having 

 been found in Koscommon, and a nestling in Kerry. 



Although the Spotted Crake has twice been obtained in 

 Greenland,* it has not as yet been recorded from Iceland, 

 or the Faeroes. It breeds sparingly in the southern dis- 

 tricts of Scandinavia and of Finland, and Messrs. Alston 

 and Harvie-Brown obtained both adults and young near 

 Archangel. Throughout Russia, Poland, Germany, Den- 

 mark, Holland, and Belgium, it is abundant in suitable 

 localities during the summer months ; visiting Heligoland 

 on both migrations, although more abundantly in that of 

 May. Numerous in the marshy districts of France, espec- 

 ially those of Grenoble, the Camargue, and the Landes, it 

 visits Switzerland, principally on migration, and breeds in 

 the swampy districts of Italy and Sicily. In the Spanish 

 Peninsula it chiefly occurs on migration or in winter ; but 

 in the other countries bordering on the Mediterranean it is 

 in a great measure a resident. In Southern Germany, and 

 Southern Russia as far as the Caucasus, it is not uncommon. 

 It has been obtained in the Canary Islands, and it appears 

 to be a resident or a winter visitant along the whole line of 

 Northern Africa as far south as Abyssinia, beyond which it 

 has not yet been recorded. 



It winters in Asia Minor, and breeds occasionally in 

 Turkestan, crossing the Karakoram range at an elevation of 

 16,000 feet, where Dr. Henderson obtained it in September 

 on its passage southwards to India ; and Dr. Scully found 

 that a few pairs bred about Gilgit (Ibis, 1881, p. 590). In 

 Eastern Siberia, China, or Japan it has not been discovered 

 by recent travellers. 



Compared with the Land Rail, the Spotted Rail is much 

 less numerous as a species, and more aquatic in its habits ; 



* Reinhardt, 'Ibis,' 1861, p. 12. 

 VOL. III. U 



