BALLING. 371 



Bill green ; culmen and tip dusky ; irides vary from red to car- 

 mine, in some, probably young birds, they are reddish-brown ; legs 

 and feet brownish-olive. 



Crown and neck above wood-brown ; back, scapulars, and wing- 

 coverts, yellow-brown, tinged with olive and with numerous white, 

 black-edged, irregular- spots ; cheeks, throat, and neck, and under 

 parts, bluish-grey ; the sides of the abdomen and under tail- 

 coverts black with white cross bars. 



The following remarks by Mr. Hume in his " Game Birds of 

 India" may prove useful : 



" This species and the Little Crake are so much alike that it 

 may be well to point out how they may be distinguished. 



" Baillon's Crake may be recognized by its smaller size, shorter, 

 and in proportion, deeper bill, and by having the back, scapulars, 

 and greater wing-coverts, all more or less profusely variegated, 

 with a somewhat bluish- white ; whereas in the Little Crake the 

 corresponding markings, which are rather coarser and of a purer 

 white, are confined, as a rule, to the centre of the back, though 

 occasionally there is a trace of these on some of the longer 

 scapulars. In Baillon's Crake the outer web of the first primary 

 is nearly entirely white or yellowish- white ; in the Little Crake 

 it is brown, only slightly yellower and paler than the inner web. 

 Moreover, in the Little Crake there is much less barring on the 

 flanks and under tail-coverts. 



" Again, though possible, this is only seasonal (on this point I 

 cannot speak with certainty) ; the Little Crake has the base 

 of the bill bright red. Lastly the adult females of the Little 

 Crake have the entire breast and jfepper abdomen uniform fulvous- 

 fawn, while those of Baillon's Crake have these parts an albescent- 

 grey, often only very slightly intermingled or fringed on the 

 breast with brownish- fawn." 



Baillon's Crake appears to be a not uncommon bird in most 

 parts of the district, but appears to be very locally distributed, 

 and most of the birds we meet with are merely seasonal visitants. 

 Some few, however, remain to breed, notably so at Milana, near 

 Deesa. The nest is not unlike that of the Water Hen. The eggs, 

 five or six in number, are oval in shape, slightly pointed at one 

 end ; the ground color is a pale stone or slight greenish-drab, with 

 faint dusky clouds and streaks, mostly at the larger end. They 

 measure about 1*2 inches in length by 0'87 in breadth. 



Porzana parva, Scop. 



91 Obis. P. minuta, Pall. Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, 



p. 265. 



THE LITTLE KAIL. 



Length, 7 to 8 ; wing, 3;8 ; tail, 1'5 to 175 ; bill, 07. 



Bill yellowish-green ; irides red ; feet and legs yellowish-green. 



Crown of the head deep brown ; sides of the head, both above 

 and below the eye, ash or slate color ; cheeks and throat dull or 



