RAIL. 



235 



This sagacious discoverer, however, like many others re- 

 nowned in history, has found but few supporters, and, except 

 his own negroes, has not, as far as I can learn, made a single 

 convert to his opinion. Matters being so circumstanced, and 

 some explanation necessary, I shall endeavour to throw a 

 little more light on the subject by a simple detail of facts, 

 leaving the reader to form his own theory as he pleases. 



The rail, or sora, belongs to a genus of birds of which 

 about thirty different species are enumerated by naturalists ; 

 and those are distributed over almost every region of the 

 habitable parts of the earth. The general character of these 

 is everywhere the same. They run swiftly, fly slowly, and 

 usually with the legs hanging down ; become extremely fat ; 

 are fond of concealment; and, wherever it is practicable, 

 prefer running to flying. Most of them are migratory, and 

 abound during the summer in certain countries, the inhabitants 

 of which have very rarely an opportunity of seeing them. Of 

 this last the land rail of Britain is a striking example. This 

 bird, which during the summer months may be heard in 

 almost every grass and clover field in the kingdom, uttering 

 its common note crek, crek, from sunset to a late hour in the 

 night, is yet unknown by sight to more than nine-tenths of the 

 inhabitants. " Its well-known cry," says Bewick, " is first 

 heard as soon as the grass becomes long enough to shelter it, 

 and continues till the grass is cut; but the bird is seldom 

 seen, for it constantly skulks among the thickest part of the 

 herbage, and runs so nimbly through it, winding and doubling 

 in every direction, that it is difficult to come near it ; when 

 hard pushed by the dog, it sometimes stops short, and squats 

 down, by which means its too eager pursuer overshoots the 

 spot, and loses the trace. It seldom springs but when driven 

 to extremity, and generally flies with its legs hanging down, 

 but never to a great distance ; as soon as it alights, it runs off, 

 and, before the fowler has reached the spot, the bird is at a 

 considerable distance."* The water crake, or spotted rail, 

 * Bewick's British Birds, vol. i. p. 308. 



