QUAIL.— LANDRAIL. 189 



not far from the DownSj but never after fell in -with one of 

 them. The males are exceedingly pugnacious^ and were by 

 our ancestors much prized for exhibition in the Cock -pit. 

 The Quail is largely imported from the Continent; for the 

 table. It feeds on slugs and small seeds, and when properly 

 fed becomes exceedingly fat. Mr. Jeffery, in his P. N., men- 

 tions a Quail kiUed at Selsey on the 1st of November, 1863, 

 and another near Chichester on the 1st of February, 1866. 



rULICARI^l. 

 EALLID^. 



L4-NDRAIL. 



Crex pratensis. 



The Landrail, or Corn Crake, arrives in April, or early in 

 May, when its note, which may be imitated by drawing the 

 fingers rapidly over the teeth of a comb, may be heard in the 

 meadows and fields of corn and of clover, for which latter it 

 has a peculiar liking, probably because Helix caperata 

 abounds there. I have frequently found broken shells of 

 this species, and occasionally a whole one, in the gizzard. 

 The nest is a mere depression in the ground, lined with dry 

 herbage. 



In September this species is usually met with singly or in 

 pairs, and when flushed it is very difficult to make it rise a 

 second time. Should it get to a hedge it will often, when 

 pressed by a dog, climb up into the bushes. I once happened 

 to see a Landrail close to my foot, in some thick grass, and 

 it allowed me to pick it up, and, to my surprise, appeared 



