6 



gun can be got to the shoulder, and is therefore not very easy to shoot ; the early morning is 

 the best time to look for these birds." According to Mr. Edward Newton it was obtained by 

 Mr. Caldwell at Antananarivo, in Madagascar ; and I have examples from that locality, which 

 agree closely with European specimens. 



In Asia the present species has a tolerably wide range. Dr. Severtzoff says that it is found 

 on passage and breeds in Turkestan, and it winters in Persia. Mr. A. O. Hume writes (Stray 

 Feathers, i. p. 251) as follows : — " I never once met with it in Sindh ; but I have it from near 

 Simla, up to a height of 4000 feet, from Etawah, Sirsa near Delhi, Raipoor, Dacca, and Tipperah, 

 from none of which I have seen the Little Crake. In fact, until I went to Sindh, I never met 

 with this latter bird in India ; and Dr. Jerdon does not include it in the ' Birds of India.' Baillon's 

 Crake breeds in the North-western Provinces at any rate, as Mr. Brooks and I took one nest, 

 containing three eggs, in the Etawah district ; and the Little Crake breeds, as the boatmen told 

 me, regularly in Sindh." Dr. Jerdon says (B. of India, ii. p. 724) that it is commoner than 

 Porzana maruetta, frequents similar places, and has a like geographical distribution. I have 

 killed it in every part of the country, chiefly in the cold season ; some pairs, however, may breed 

 in this country, as I have killed it in Eastern Bengal in May. Messrs. Henderson and Hume 

 write (Lahore to Yarkand, p- 293): — "A single specimen was obtained near Shahidulla, in the 

 plains of India. This species breeds with us in July and August in the plains of Upper India, 

 and in June and July in Kashmir and the valleys in the lower ranges containing suitable rice- 

 swamps or marshy pools. It is very common near Syree, below Simla. The full number of eggs 

 is, I believe, eight, as we found the fragments of this number of shells round a nest that had 

 hatched off; but six is the greatest number of eggs that I have ever obtained. The nest is made 

 of rush and weed, completely concealed in water-grass, wild rush, and the like, and is usually 

 very little above the water's edge." It was once obtained by Mr. Layard in Ceylon ; and 

 Mr. Davison states (Stray Feathers, ii. p. 301) that he shot a female at Port Mouat, in the 

 Andamans. It occurs to the eastward to China and Japan. According to Dr. Dybowski the 

 present species breeds in Dauria ; and Radde obtained two old males — one late in May on the 

 Tarei-nor, and the other in August near Kiirinsk, on the eastern slope of the Southern 

 Apfelgebirge. 



Pere David says (Ois. de la Chine, p, 487) that he found it common in the eastern portions 

 of the part of China he visited, and numbers breed in the marshes near Pekin ; and Mr. Swinhoe 

 obtained it in Amoy. According to Schlegel there are examples in the Leyden Museum from 

 Japan and the Philippines. 



In habits Baillon's Crake is said to resemble Porzana maruetta very closely, much more so 

 than it does the Little Crake. It inhabits marshy localities, chiefly the small ponds on the 

 edges of large marshes, swampy ditches, &c, and is much less frequently seen in open sheets of 

 water than Porzana parva. Like its allies it lies hidden amongst the dense aquatic herbage 

 which covers the places it inhabits, and it is consequently difficult of observation. It swims with 

 ease and grace, frequently nodding its head and jerking its tail; and in case of need it dives 

 readily. It walks with quick steps on the floating leaves of aquatic plants and grasses, and is 

 easy, quick, and graceful in its movements, except on the wing ; for its flight is weak, short, and 

 laboured, the legs hanging clumsily down as it flaps along, and it drops down again into the 



