LAND-RAIL. 67 
One, January 28th., 1846, in the parish of Shifnal, Salop. 
They assemble together in certain places before going away. 
On their first arrival, they are in poor condition, but soon 
become in better case. Forty were once seen by a farmer, 
in the parish of Modbury, Devonshire, in the month of 
October, collected together previous to leaving; he shot 
seventeen, but the next day the others had all disappeared. 
Individuals have been occasionally taken on ships at sea. 
The Land-Rail has a great aversion to being put up, and, 
being of a shy and timorous nature, skulks and runs about 
most pertinaciously in its covert, doubling backwards and 
forwards both rapidly and cleverly, rather than do so. If 
alarmed unawares into flight, it will suddenly drop after 
flying a few yards, and take to its legs for security; it is 
in consequence very rarely seen, in proportion to the com- 
parative abundance in which it unquestionably exists. I 
remember last year dislodging one close to me, which, 
though apparently it must have lurked almost under my 
feet, I could not discover: it is still more difficult to make 
it rise a second time. If closely followed it will at times 
take refuge in trees, running without difficulty among the 
branches, and hiding among the leaves. 
The following well-told relation of the circumstance it 
records I give as communicated to me by William Robert 
Shepherd, Esq., of the Dana, Shrewsbury:—‘Rather a singular 
circumstance occurred to me the other day. Whilst out with 
my gun on the 138th. instant, at Ludlow, in this county, in 
going over a grass field, my dog in advance flushed a Corn- 
Crake, which fled steadily for a short distance, and then 
dropped among the grass. Being desirous of watching its 
movements, I hurried towards the spot where it had alighted, 
when I saw it stealing through the grass with the stealth- 
iness and rapidity of a mouse, ever and anon raising its 
head to see the extent of the danger. I was thus watching 
it, when suddenly it stopped and crouched close to the 
ground. Motioning the dog to stay behind, I crept cautiously 
to the spot, and as I drew near to it, was surprised to see 
no attempt at escape. 
Having reached the place, I carefully examined the ground 
for some distance round, but could find nothing. I was 
just on the point of giving up the search, thinking that 
the bird had stolen off without my notice, when my 
attention was attracted by what appeared to me to be a 
