THE ZOOLOGIST. 



THIRD SERIES. 



Vol. XIV.] NOVEMBER, 1890. [No. J67. 



ON THE DISTRIBUTION AND PERIOD OF SOJOURN IN 



THE BRITISH ISLANDS OF THE SPOTTED CRAKE. 



By 0. V. Aplin, M.B.O.U. 



The Spotted Crake, Porzana maruetta, has been variously 

 treated by writers upon British birds — as a summer migrant, 

 arriving early in the spring and leaving late in the autumn ; as 

 a rather late arrival in spring ; as a partial resident ; and also 

 as a migrant more commonly met with in autumn and winter 

 than at any other season. 



It may therefore be interesting to bring together in a short 

 paper, for comparison, such information respecting the distribu- 

 tion, dates of migration, and period of residence of this bird in 

 Britain as may be gathered from the works of some of the older 

 writers on British Ornithology, as well as the more recent and 

 detailed observations furnished by the various local avifaunal 

 works now available for determining the general distribution of 

 this bird in these islands. Further notices have been collated 

 from periodicals, the Migration Reports, &c. To this published 

 matter I am able to add some information derived from cor- 

 respondence with several ornithologists, as well as a few notes of 

 my own. 



The Rev. L. Jenyns (now Blomefield) wrote that this bird 

 " is usually considered as a migratory species, retiring at the 

 approach of winter, but it is highly probable that many individuals 

 remain with us throughout the year. It is certainly to be met 



ZOOLOGIST. NOV. 18U0. 2 II 



