46 Fletcher, Field Notes on Some Rallina;. [ist^Tiiy 



black, with blackish beak, and appeared to have a few white spots 

 on the back. The hen wandered further on, then gave some 

 grunting sounds before she led the baby birds over an open space 

 of shallow water. They crossed this in an attitude of fear, and 

 one little fellow was in such a hurry that he struck a stick, and 

 thus turned a complete somersault in the water. At his cry of 

 alarm the mother rushed back, and the glasses confirmed my 

 opinion that she was a Little Crake {P. palustris). After they had 

 gone we searched the swamp, and my sister found a new nest of 

 a Crake, exactly similar to the one of bitten reeds. No eggs were 

 ever seen in it. 



Later on, in November, whilst watching for birds in the same 

 creek, though higher up, I saw a Crake with three young. The 

 mother made a noise resembling water pouring from a bottle, 

 whilst the chicks answered " Peep peep," and kept close to cover, 

 only running to their mother when she grunted and apparently fed 

 them. She glanced up at a white moth which settled on a reed, 

 saw me, and the family disappeared. I could not make out 

 whether she gave the chicks insects or pieces of the cress amongst 

 which she was searching. So far I have had no other opportunity for 

 studying the life-history of the Crakes. Several times the Spotless 

 Crake was flushed from a nest it had made, and in which it was 

 fond of sitting towards evening. I never saw eggs in this nest, 

 and I have come tb the conclusion that this was a dummy nest, 

 and that perhaps the real one was a little further away. Two 

 other nests were found, but apparently robbed. Bush-rats also 

 frequent these swamps and live in the many logs which intersect the 

 morass. The female of the Spotless Crake whilst running makes a 

 noise like the " puff, puff, puff " of a motor-car. In fact, I have 

 been asked the proper name of the little " motor-car birds." The 

 male answers with a squeaky grunt. 



I had more success with the Lewin (Slate-breasted) Rail. These 

 birds begin their sentinel calling early in August, and any intruder 

 near the swamp is warned off by a loud metallic " Tick, tick, tick." 

 I observed that in the early morning and towards evening they 

 generally feed near their nests, and the calls then are a very good 

 guide to its locality. Should the female be on or near the nest 

 when the male calls, she will answer with a noise resembling the 

 deep purring sound of a cat. As soon as the rustling reeds betray 

 the presence of an intruder she slips off her nest and is away. 

 Several times, though, the bird hid at the foot of the nesting 

 clump and once against my sister's boot. I could not discover if 

 both birds assisted with the nest-building, though I gained some 

 idea of the time taken in its construction, unless the birds have 

 been robbed, when they rapidly construct another home, generally 

 only a few yards away. 



On the i8th August a partly made nest was found with the 

 slightest attempt at an overhead covering. Near was last year's 

 nest, containing egg-shell fragments, and also the skull of a Rail 

 upon it. A week later more material had been added and the 



