EALLIDiE CKEX 245 



it has also been met with in the Island of St. Thomas in the Gulf 

 of Guinea. 



The following are the chief recorded localities : Cape Colony — 

 Cape div. November, Stellenbosch, September, and Paarl, April 

 (S. A. Mus.), Beaufort West and Colesberg (Layard), Knysna, 

 August, and Oudtshoorn, December (Victorin), near Port Elizabeth 

 (Rickard), King William's Town (Trevelyan) and Kuruman (Berlin 

 Mus.) ; Natal— Durban (Bt. Mus.), Maritzburg (Buckley), St. Lucia 

 Lake (Woodward); Transvaal — Potchefstroom, September, Novem- 

 ber (Ayres) ; Ehodesia — Pandematenka (Holub) ; German South- 

 west Africa — Omanbonde (Andersson). 



Habits. — Like other Eails this bird is seldom seen though 

 probably not uncommon in suitable localities. It is found in 

 swamps, haunting reedy thickets, bordered by rank grass and other 

 aquatic vegetation. It runs and swims with great agility but is 

 feeble on the wing and difficult .to flush. It is a noisy bird with a 

 loud and startling cry ; the food consists of insects and worms, 

 the remains of crabs have also been found in the stomach. 



Mr. Millar has sent me the following account of the breeding 

 habits of this Eail, which do not appear to have been hitherto 

 described : " Last Saturday, August 16, I was fortunate when 

 searching Clairmont Vlei (near Durban) to find a nest contain- 

 ing two eggs slightly incubated. The nest was about forty yards 

 from the edge of the vlei amongst a dense mass of rushes grow- 

 ing in about two feet of water, and could only be seen by parting 

 the rushes. The bird ran ofl' the nest, allowing me to approach 

 within a few feet before taking fright. The nest was constructed 

 entirely of dried rushes densely packed within a few inches of the 

 water. It was a deep cup-shaped structure, Hned at the bottom 

 with the flowery heads of the rushes. 



" The eggs are pointed at both ends, measuring 1-25 x "90 ; the 

 ground colour is creamy white profusely spotted and clouded heavily 

 at the obtuse end with various shades of brown, purple and grey, but 

 only minutely and sparingly spotted at the other end." 



Genus II. CREX. 



Type. 



Crex, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. p. 336 (1803) C. pratensis. 



Creoopsis, Sharpe, Bull. B. 0. C. i, no. 5, p. 28 (1893) C. egregia. 



Bill short and stout, about two-thirds the length of the middle 

 toe and claw ; nostrils oval ; no frontal shield ; wings broad and 



