THE LANDRAIL. 331 



THE LAND1MIL. 



THE Landrail is a bird far more often heard than 

 seen. A shy and wary creature, he delights to dwell 

 amongst the densest vegetation, and is but rarely 

 observed on the wing. His body is admirably formed 

 for penetrating the dank herbage, and the colours of his 

 plumage, beautiful though they are. are exceedingly 

 sober, and make him an object inconspicuous amidst 

 surroundings the same. 



Landrails are migratory birds, and their migrations 

 are undoubtedly performed in the night. It is difficult 

 to give the exact time of their appearance, for being such 

 retiring birds, their presence is invariably made known 

 by their shrill and monotonous call notes ; and as it is 

 doubtful whether both male and female call alike, it is 

 also a matter of uncertainty which arrives the first, or 

 whether they journey in company. However, in the 

 northern parts of England, as soon as April departs in 

 favour of the smiling month of May, their well-known 

 call notes are heard in the grass and clover fields, 

 notably those lying low and in the neighbourhood of 

 water. The birds do not frequent the corn fields so 

 much as is very generally supposed ; the bird's name of 

 Corncrake doubtless being misleading in this respect. 



Before going further with the life history of the 

 Landrail, I would briefly dwell upon a peculiarity in 

 its habits as yet totally unaccounted for, and that is 



