96 LAKES AND RIVERS. 



Corn Crake (Greoc pratensis) arrives in April, and 

 greatly frequents the corn-fields, which afford, among 

 the lower forms of animal life which feed on the corn, 

 its favourite food. The male utters the cry, " Crecq, 

 crecq ! " until the young are hatched. The nest is hid 

 in a thick covert ; it is of rude construction, only a 

 little dry grass and moss carelessly placed. If the 

 long grass or brushwood is cut down near the nest, the 

 birds forsake it, even if it is not molested, though 

 the female sits so close that she might be killed by 

 a scythe before she is observed. The number of 

 eggs laid varies from eight to sixteen. The ground- 

 colour is reddish-white, spotted with ash and rusty 

 brown. The young birds are able to run as soon as 

 hatched, but they cannot fly for some time. Except 

 when about to migrate, they are not much given to 

 flying ; this is in the month of September. They 

 have a habit of moving in a stealthy and almost 

 noiseless manner through the long grass and bushes. 

 They are very noisy in their cries, except when they 

 are anxious to hide, but cease their cries for some 

 time before migration. They feed at night, early in 

 the morning, or late in the evening. Inharmonious 

 as their cry is, yet in some lonely districts it is cheerful 

 to hear them in the summer evening, especially as 

 to the traveller it indicates the neighbourhood of cul- 

 tivation and the quiet dwellings of some retired 

 human inhabitants. 



The Spotted Crake (Grex porzand), also a summer 

 visitor, is a smaller bird. It is of a greenish olive- 

 brown, with spots and lines of black and white. The 

 feet and bill are greenish-yellow. It makes a nest in 



