LITTLE CRAKE. 117 



THE first example of this species made known in this 

 country was shot near Ashburton in Devonshire, in 1 809, 

 and Colonel Montagu received it from Mr. Tucker. This 

 bird, figured and described in Montagu's Supplement to his 

 Ornithological Dictionary, under the name of Little Galli- 

 nule, appears to be a female, but the sex was not noted. 



The next specimen, recorded by Montagu, is Mr. Fol- 

 jambe's bird, obtained in the shop of a London poulterer, 

 in May, 1812; this is also figured and described in the 

 Appendix to his Supplement, and is considered to be an 

 old male. This example was received from Norfolk. 

 About the same time Mr. Plasted, of Chelsea, obtained 

 another which was shot on the banks of the Thames, near 

 that place. At the sale of Mr. Plasted's birds, this speci- 

 men passed into the possession of Mr. Leadbeater, and 

 was transferred to the collection of Mr. Lombe, who re- 

 sided near Norwich. This bird, which I saw several times 

 while it belonged to Mr. Leadbeater, agreed with the 

 figure and description of Montagu's Olivaceous Gallinule, 

 and was believed to be an old male. 



An extract from the Minute-book of the Linnean 

 Society, dated November 4th, 1823, is thus inserted in 

 the fourteenth volume of the Transactions of that Society, 

 page 583 : " In a letter from W. Fothergill, Esq., of 

 Carr-end, near Arkrigg, in Yorkshire, it is stated that the 

 Rallus pusillus of Gmelin, Gallinula minuta of Montagu, 

 and G. pusilla of Temminck, was shot on the 6th of May, 

 1807, by John Humphrey, Esq., of Wensley, on the banks 

 of the Yore, near that place. It was alone, and suffered 

 itself to be approached very near, without betraying any 

 sense of danger. It ran with great rapidity, carrying its 

 tail erect." 



In March, 1826, a female of this species was caught at 

 Barnwell near Cambridge, which was in the collection of 



