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lives ill the country. Besides these there is the Water- 

 Eail, which is partially resident, but does not often show 

 itself, and is therefore less generally known than the 

 Moor-hen. All the Rails are difficult to dislodge from 

 their hiding-places among the thick aquatic herbage, pre- 

 ferring to run, or dive, or skulk, rather than take wing ; 

 and, as Mr. Stevenson well observes, in his ' Birds of Nor- 

 folk,' if this is to be said of the larger and more numerous 

 members of the family, we can well understand how much 

 more it applies to those minute Bails, such as the Sootted 

 Crake, Baillon's Crake, and the Little Crake, all migrants 

 in spring and again in autumn to this country, some of 

 them occasionally residing with us throughout the year, 

 which are v^ery seldom detected, and yet may be more 

 numerous than they are supposed to be. With their shy 

 and retiring habits, with the abundant facilities for con- 

 cealment provided by the lush aquatic herbage, and with 

 numerous rat-holes close at hand into which to pop and 

 lie jjerda when the spaniel presses hard upon them, it is 

 no wonder that these smaller species are so seldom ob- 

 tained, and that some of them should continue to be 

 regarded as among our rarest birds. The bodies of the 

 Bails are admirably adapted for the purpose of running 

 through the reeds and sedge, and for squeezing into the 

 smallest chinks when necessary, as they are narrow and 

 compressed ; their legs are somewhat long, and are pro- 

 vided with elongated prehensile feet and claws, enabling 

 them to climb and grasp the stems of aquatic plants, or 

 to walk, on the surface of the leaves which float u[)on the 

 water. They are all expert and graceful swimmers, jerking 

 their tails with every motion as they advance. They feed 

 on aquatic snails, on insects, worms, slugs, small frogs, 

 and \arious plants. 



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