180 
neck moderately extended. Ihe ordinary haunts 
of the Land Rail, which prefers dry or moderately 
moist to wet ground, are fields of corn and grass. 
Its food consists of insects, worms, slugs, and 
sometimes seeds. Its nest is composed of a few 
straws laid in a straight hollow, among corn, grass, 
or tall weeds. The eggs, generally eight or ten, 
are of a light cream colour, patched and dotted 
with brownish red and light purple spots. The 
young, which are covered with down of a blackish 
colour, run with surprising speed. 
RALL, WAT Bar. 
RaLLus aquaricus, Lin. 
The Water Rail is not very common in Great 
Britain, but is numerous in the marshes of the 
northern countries of Europe, whence partially, and 
at irregular periods, it migrates southward, even 
into Africa, during the severity of the season. It 
is a shy and solitary bird, generally distributed 
and permanently resident in Britain. Its con- 
stant abode is in low wet places much overgrown 
with sedges, reeds, and other coarse herbage, 
among which it finds shelter, and feeds m security. 
It runs occasionally, flirting up its tail with the 
same swiftness as the Land Rail, through the 
meadows and corn-fields, and shows as great an 
