208 CATALOGU 



WATER RAIL. 



Case 283. 



The Water Rail is usually met with in low- lying 

 marshy ground, occasionally, however, being found fre- 

 quenting the banks of rough streams in wooded districts. 



The extensive reed-beds and trackless swamps that 

 abound in the neighbourhood of the Broads in the 

 eastern counties are admirably adapted to their habits, 

 and the bird, though but seldom seen, may be heard 

 continuously during fine still weather in the summer 

 months ; the peculiar squeaks and grunts that are 

 emitted by this species would never be supposed by 

 anyone unacquainted with its note to proceed from the 

 throat of a bird. 



The specimens in the case were obtained in the 

 Potter Heigham marshes, in Norfolk, in May, 1870. 



SPOTTED RAIL. 



Case 284. 



Though the Spotted Rail is usually considered a 

 summer visitor to. our shores, a few, I believe, will 

 occasionally remain during the winter in suitable 

 localities. 



Like its neighbour the Water Rail, the present species 

 is particularly abundant in the Broad district in the 

 eastern counties. While snipe shooting in the autumn, 

 I have repeatedly found them in great numbers in the 

 neighbourhood of Yarmouth. 



The male and female were obtained in Pevensey 

 Marsh, in April, 1866, the nest and eggs being taken in 

 a reed-bed near Hickling Broad, in June, 1873. 



