250 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



birds, arriving in the spring and leaving in the 

 autumn. During several years' residence in 

 Hampshire, a county exceptionally well watered, 

 and suitable for nearly every description of water- 

 birds, I only once saw a specimen of the spotted 

 crake, and that had been procured by a friend of 

 mine. The little crake is still rarer. In plumage 

 the two birds much resemble each other, the 

 colour being of a greenish-brown, with dark 

 stripes on the back, and spotted with white, the 

 spotted crake measuring between eight and nine 

 inches in length, the little crake about half an 

 inch less. 



The water-rail, if not as common as the 

 moor-hen, is, nevertheless, to be found wherever 

 the latter birds are abundant, and may often be 

 seen feeding on the banks of the rivers and in the 

 meadows in company with them. Although not a 

 migratory bird, it is more plentiful in some seasons 

 than others, this being due to the fact that these 

 birds are apt to shift their quarters in the autumn, 

 moving southward, this partial migration, if such 

 it may be termed, varying according as the weather 

 is severe or the reverse, though I have frequently 

 seen it running through the rushes and boles of 

 the willows by the riverside, when snipe-shooting, 

 in very hard weather. It is a shy bird, and 

 when out feeding with moor-hens is ever the first 

 to take alarm. I have frequently watched them 

 creeping cautiously along the sides of the river- 

 banks, threading their way through the rushes 



