THE LITTLE CRAKE. 33 



resembles the allied species, the Spotted and Baillon's Crakes. It is exceedingly 

 secretive, hiding itself in marshy places, overgrown with reeds and tall grass, in 

 which it can find shelter, and from which it is extremely difficult to be driven. 

 When pressed by dogs it rarely takes wing, and then only when closely pursued, 

 but prefers to take refuge amongst the most dense growth of sedges and reeds. 

 Like the other Crakes it swims readily and with much ease, but when it takes 

 wing it flies very heavily, and takes the earliest opportunity of seeking the 

 shelter of the aquatic herbage. Of its habits but little is known from obser- 

 vation in this country, but Nauinann states that it is far more aquatic than 

 Baillon's Crake, with which it has not unfrequently been confounded, and, as 

 quoted in " Yarrell," he asserts that it " will even boldly show itself, uttering 

 its loud defiant call-note kik, kik, kik." 



Dr. Butler, who found several nests in Germany, described one as rather flat, 

 but in form carefully constructed of dry flag leaves, and raised almost a foot above 

 the surface of the water ; a second, rather rudely built on dead aquatic herbage, 

 was only a few inches from the water ; whilst a third was composed of dry sedge- 

 grass. The eggs appear to be seven or eight in number, of an oval form, rather 

 larger and paler than those of Baillon's Crake : light olive-brown in colour, flecked 

 with darker brown, and measuring about i'i by "86 inches. 



The sexes in this species differ greatly in plumage. The male has the upper 

 parts olive-brown, with all the feathers blackish in the middle, varied with some 

 white marks which are but sparingly distributed ; whilst the under parts are 

 bluish-grey, without any spots of the colours, but the thighs are spotted with 

 white, as are the under tail-coverts. The total length of the bird is eight inches. 

 The beak is green, with red at the base ; the eye bright red ; the legs and feet 

 green. The female, which is slightly smaller, has the under parts very pale brown, 

 the chin white, the flanks and under tail-coverts are greyish, with white bars, and 

 the colour of the beak and iris much less strongly marked than in the males. 

 The young, in their first plumage, are still paler, and the chicks, when just hatched, 

 are uniformly clothed in black down. 



Though called the Little Crake, it is larger than Baillon's Crake, from which 

 it is distinguished by its upper parts being much less spotted, and by its wing- 

 coverts being entirely free from white marks. The total length of the male, which 

 is slightly the larger of the two sexes, is eight inches. 



VOL. V 



