THE SPOTTED CRAKE. *9 



according to Yarrell, has been recorded in Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorset, all round 

 the southern coast and up the eastern, as far as Northumberland and Durham. 

 Stevenson says that it occurs regularly in the Broad and fen districts of Norfolk 

 in the summer months, and he regards it as being more frequent than is generally 

 imagined, in consequence of its inhabiting the impenetrable swamps in which the 

 nests cannot be found, and out of which the birds cannot be flushed. With the 

 drainage of the fens they are, however, becoming scarcer than formerly. Stevenson 

 states that he has found the bird frequently in the rough marshes adjoining the 

 reed beds, but the quickness with which the bird threads its way through these 

 localities will baffle even the best dog. Mr. Cordeaux, in his " Birds of the 

 Humber District," states that though locally distributed, it is by no means 

 uncommon in certain localities on each side of the Humber. 



Mr. Booth, one of the most practical of our ornithologists, regards the species 

 as more common than is generally imagined. He says that it is doubtless 

 plentiful in many suitable localities in England, though escaping notice in very 

 many instances, owing to the inaccessible nature of its haunts, and the difficulty 

 of forcing it to take wing. He states that, in certain boggy spots in the fens, 

 near Ely, he discovered two or three nests some twenty- five years ago, and that 

 more recently, in Norfolk, the species has been met with in considerable numbers. 

 From its extreme secretiveness, even the dates of its migration cannot be accurately 

 ascertained. It is obvious that the greater number take their departure before 

 the cold of winter sets in, although a few stragglers may remain later. 



Stevenson writes : " On two or three occasions I have shot this Crake when 

 looking for Snipe at Surlingham, where both young and old, before their departure 

 in October, frequent the rough marshes surrounding the reed-beds ; but in these 

 localities even a dog well accustomed to the spot will sometimes be baffled 

 altogether by the quickness with which the bird threads its way amongst the 

 tangled grass, or slips round the little tussocks. When too closely pressed, also, 

 and compelled to take wing, it not unfrequently flies so low, in a line with the 

 dog, that it pitches again before a safe shot can be had ; and most probably it 

 drops amongst the reeds, and is seen no more. On the 4th of September, 1861, 

 four were shot at Stalham on the same day ; but I find from my notes for the 

 last twenty years, that the majority of the specimens brought to our bird-stuffers 

 for preservation have been killed between the and and 2Qth of October. On the 

 22nd of October, 1856, one old bird and three young of the year were shot at 

 Rockland. About that time, I believe, the greater number take their departure 

 for the south ; but stragglers are occasionally met with throughout November, of 

 which I have records, in different seasons, on the 2nd, gth, i6th, and 3Oth. I 



