234 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



in the Isle of Man, twice in Scotland, and twice in Ireland. 

 It probably breeds occasionally in England, as two nests, 

 apparently of this species, were found in Cambridgeshire in 

 1858, and two more in Norfolk in 1866. 



Range outside the British Islands. Baillon's Crake appears 

 to be somewhat irregularly distributed throughout Central and 

 Southern Europe, as it is not known from the Baltic Provinces 

 or Poland, but it extends (in winter, probably) to the Persian 

 Gulf, being replaced in Eastern Siberia, India, and China by 

 the allied species, P. pusilla. It occurs in suitable localities 

 throughout Africa, and the place from which I have seen the 

 greatest number of specimens is Madagascar. 



Habits. The habits of Baillon's Crake resemble those of its 

 congeners, but, from its small size, it is even more difficult of 

 observation. 



Nest. Small, made of rushes and reeds. 



Eggs. Six to eight in number. Olive brown, mottled with 

 reddish-brown, and dull grey underlying spots, the latter not 

 much in evidence. The mottling is obscure, and some eggs 

 appear almost uniform olive or reddish-brown. Axis, i*i-i'2 

 inch diam., o'75~o'9. 



THE MOOR-HENS. GENUS GALLINULA. 

 Gallinula, Briss. Orn. vi. p. 3 (1760). 



Type, G. chloropus (Linn.). 



The Water-Hens are distinguished by their red frontal 

 shield, the plumage being sombre and generally blackish. 

 The toes are long, the middle one and its claw exceeding the 

 tarsus in length ; they have a narrow lateral membrane, but 

 do not have a sc alloped lobe like the Coots. The secondaries 

 are decidedly shorter than the primaries. The nostrils are 

 oval, and situated in a distinct nasal depression. 



I. THE MOOR-HEN. GALLINULA CHLOROPUS. 



Fulica chloropus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 258 (1766). 



