38 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



On some specimens the marks are quite large blotches, while on others they are 

 mere specks. They vary in length from 1-5 to 1-4 inch, and in breadth from ri 

 to i"o inch." 



The young, when hatched, are in rich black down; they are very active 

 immediately after they leave the nest, seeking for insects on the grass stems, and 

 clustering about the mother in the same manner as chickens around a hen. 



Though usually extremely shy, under certain circumstances the Com- Crake 

 appears very fearless of man. By drawing the nail across a comb, the strange 

 voice of this bird can be readily imitated, and if this is done and the operator 

 stands perfectly still, the birds will approach him, and, as Messrs. D'Urban and 

 Mathew say, will even run about between his legs. If the nest is discovered, the 

 hen bird will, if quietly approached, remain seated on the eggs, and Mr. Oswin 

 Lee recounts the fact that when taking a photograph of a nest, the hen came a 

 few yards from him, crossed a patch of short grass, and walked slowly up to the 

 nest, where she carefully turned all the eggs with her bill before settling herself 

 upon them. This operation, he says, lasted nearly ten minutes, during which time 

 she paid not the least attention to him, although he moved several times. The 

 male kept continually calling, being answered by another bird in the distance, but 

 the sitting hen did not utter any sound, either on the nest or when returning 

 to it. 



The Land- Rail has been frequently kept in confinement, and thrives perfectly 

 if placed in a large aviary, becoming exceedingly tame and dangerously aggressive 

 to the other birds. If captured, as they occasionally are, by a dog, and brought 

 to the sportsman, they are in the habit of feigning death, and waiting for an 

 opportunity of escape into the high grass. Though flying unwillingly when 

 flushed, their powers of flight, when once on the wing, are very great, as is proved 

 by their annual migration, and occasionally, when repeatedly flushed, they will rise 

 in the air and pass away at a great height, with a speed equal to that of a wild 

 Duck. 



The general plumage of the Corn-Crake is yellowish-brown, the feathers on 

 the upper parts having dark centres. The under parts are lighter, the breast 

 being greyish-buff. In the autumn the grey of the under parts is replaced by 

 reddish-buff, and the bars on the flanks are less defined and suffused with chestnut. 

 The length of the adult is about ten inches and a half. The young, on leaving 

 the nest, are closely covered with short black down, slightly dotted with white. 

 The coloration of the species varies considerably, and the representations of the 

 birds in works as recent and authoritative as Dresser's " Birds of Europe," and 

 Lord Lilford's "Birds of the British Islands," are striking distinct. 



