BIRDS 



the speckled plumage have often been mis- 

 taken for hybrids with the common partridge. 



185. Quail. Ceturnix communis, Bonnztcrre. 

 A rather irregular summer migrant, more 



plentiful in some years than in others. The 

 nest has been occasionally found. 



186. Corn-Crake or Land-Rail. Crex pra- 



tensis, Bechstein. 

 In Suffolk people usually shoot the ' land- 

 rail ' but hear the ' corn-crake,' as the latter 

 name appeals more to the ear. This bird is a 

 rather late summer migrant, nesting in 

 meadows and cornfields, where it makes its 

 presence known by its oft-repe;.ted * crake- 

 crake.' Comparatively few people know it 

 by sight, and a beautiful specimen which 

 struck the telegraph wires near Bury in May, 

 1 90 1, was a puzzle to a gang of railway 

 workmen, not one of whom could name it. 



187. Spotted Crake. Porzana maruetta 



(Leach) 

 One or two pairs may nest in the county 

 still, but this bird is chiefly an autumn visitant. 

 Mr. G. T. Rope has found it nesting at 

 Leiston, ' where in the marshes on the Lower 

 Abbey Farm there was a large reed-bed or 

 " reedland," since drained and done away 

 with. The Spotted Crake bred there in 1872 

 and my brother and I found the nest, or more 

 strictly speaking our dog found it. The 

 young were on the point of hatching and an 

 addled egg and a drawing of one of the chicks 

 were sent to the Field office' (G. T. R. in litt.). 

 In the summer of 1866 the naturalists at 

 Aldeburgh were much perplexed by the call 

 of a bird repeatedly heard in the mere nearest 

 the town, and there is little doubt that the 

 ' weet-weet ' was produced by the spotted 

 crake (Hele). 



188. Little Crake. Porzana parva {Scopoli) 

 A very rare visitant, which has doubtless 



often escaped notice from its small size and 

 skulking habits. One was killed on Oulton 

 Broad in 1830, which Dr. Babington con- 

 sidered the ' only one which can with cer- 

 tainty be counted on as having occurred in 

 Suffolk.' 



189. Baillon's Crake. Perzana hailloni 



(Vieillot) 

 The records of this rare visitant do not 

 appear to be very satisfactory or very recent, 

 but as Dr. Babington has admitted its claim 

 and Mr. Saunders states that ' Baillon's crake 

 has occurred in Suffolk ' {Manual, p. 513) it 

 is included here, especially as there are several 



good records from Norfolk, and it is believed 

 to have nested in that county. It may be 

 roughly described as a very small spotted 

 crake, 



190. Water-Rail. Rallus aquaticus, Linn. 



A resident breeding in marshes and reed- 

 beds, but not common except in winter, 

 when the numbers are increased by the 

 arrival of migrants. 



191. Moor-Hen. Gallinula chloropus (Linn.) 

 A common resident, also known as the 



water-hen, breeding on the edges of lakes, 

 rivers and ponds, and even in ditches, where 

 its nest may be found from early in April till 

 late in June, as it rears two broods in a 

 season. During a flood in the Norton 

 meadows in June, 1902, which must have 

 destroyed many hundreds of eggs, a sitting 

 moorhen raised her nest and eggs with sedge 

 and reeds to a height of about 18 inches 

 above the original site of the nest and kept 

 them high and dry. In a long frost these 

 birds suffer severely, and in the intense frost 

 of February, 1895, some were found dead at 

 Tostock in rabbit burrows into which they 

 had evidently crept for shelter. 



192. Coot. Fulica atra, hinn, 



A resident far less common than the moor- 

 hen but breeding both in marshes near the sea 

 and on inland waters. Bartonmere, before 

 it had shrunk to its present condition, was a 

 favourite haunt, and in 1 90 1 several pairs 

 nested on Drinkstone Park water. * There 

 are a few women in the town who are 

 regularly employed to prepare the coot for 

 cooking. It appears the down under the 

 feathers is so close and thick as to necessitate 

 its removal after the bird is plucked. Thisi 

 is done by first rubbing the surface with pow- 

 dered resin, afterwards dipping the entire 

 body into hot water. By this means the resin, 

 becomes dissolved and mingling with the 

 down allows it to be removed with tolerable 

 ease' (Hele, Notes about Aldeburgh, ed. 1890^ 

 p. 86). 



193. Crane. Grus communis, Btchste.\n. 

 Though it is quite possible that the crane 



may have bred in the fens of Suffolk long ago 

 there are only two records of its occurrence 

 in recent times, both of them in the Lowes- 

 toft district. One was shot at Kirkley in a 

 barley field in April, 1845 (Babington, Cata- 

 logue, p. 157), and the other at Benacre in 

 the last week of June, 1 893, which was pre- 

 served for Sir Alfred Gooch by Mr. Bunn of 

 Lowestoft. 



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