142 BRITISH BIRDS. 



every direction, that it is difficult to come near it; 

 when hard pushed by the dog, it sometimes stops 

 short and squats down, by which means its too 

 eager pursuer overshoots the spot, and looses the 

 scent. It seldom springs but when driven to ex- 

 tremity, and generally flies with its legs hanging 

 down, but never to a great distance: as soon as it 

 alights, it runs off, and before the fowler has reach- 

 ed the spot, the bird is at a considerable distance. 



The Corn-crake leaves this island before the 

 Avinter, and repairs to other countries in search of 

 its food, which consists principally of slugs, of 

 which it destroys prodigious numbers; it likewise 

 feeds on shell snails (helix nemoralis), worms, and 

 insects of various kinds, as well as on seeds. It 

 has no craw, but a wide pipe descending direct to 

 the gizzard. It is very common in Ireland, and is 

 seen in great numbers in the island of Anglesea in 

 its passage to that country. On its first arrival in 

 England, it is so lean as to weigh less than six 

 ounces, from which one would conclude that it must 

 have come from distant parts ; before its departure, 

 however, it has been known to exceed eight ounces, 

 and is then very delicious eating. The female lays 

 ten or twelve eggs, on a nest made of a little moss 

 or dry grass loosely put together: they are of a 

 pale ash-colour, marked with rust-coloured spots. 

 The young Crakes are covered with a black down ; 

 they soon find the use of their legs, for they follow 

 the mother immediately after they have burst the 

 shell. 



The foregoing figure was made from a living 

 bird, for which the work is indebted to the late 

 Major H. F. Gibson. 



