CRAKES AND RAILS. 251 



smaller and more slender legs and feet, and by 

 having the primaries of a uniform leaden-brown 

 colour instead of being barred. 



THE LITTLE BITTERN (Botaurus minutus), al- 

 though somewhat rare, is not very unfrequent in 

 Ireland. I have twice shot this quaint little fellow 

 when Snipe-shooting in the inmost recess of a very 

 wet marsh. Most public and private collections 

 can show Irish specimens ; some can boast even of 

 three or four in their cases ; and I have notes of 

 several obtained by various gentlemen when out 

 after Snipe. The large Bittern is, however, more 

 frequently met with, as from its size it is not likely 

 to be passed by or allowed to escape. 



Amongst Crakes and Rails, the CORNCRAKE (Crex 

 pratensis] may be said to be fairly numerous, al- 

 though not common, except in meadow-lands and 

 grazing districts. That these birds not unfrequently 

 winter in Ireland I have no doubt. I have twice 

 found them, to all appearance asleep, in the month 

 of February, ensconced in the centre of loose stone 

 walls close to the ground, and I have met with 

 several instances of the kind. Mr. Reeves, of 

 Capard, Queen's County, writes me word that he 

 took three Corncrakes in a semi-comatose state out 

 of a rabbit-hole on the 7th of February, 1882, and 

 others in the same manner in former years. I have 

 many notes of Corncrakes being seen or shot in 

 mistake for Woodcocks in winter, and especially on 

 the promontories of the west coast. 



THE SPOTTED CRAKE (Crex porzana) is much 

 rarer, although specimens may be seen in almost 

 every public and private collection in Ireland. 



