baillon's crake. 205 



even when surprised in the open, when hard pressed. Once in 

 cover, they cannot easily be put up without dogs, but push their 

 way rapidly through rush, reed, and rice stems with a facility 

 doubtless due in a great measure to the wedge-like shape of 

 their bodies, which, like those of the entire family, are excessively 

 compressed laterally and are much deeper than they are wide. 



When flushed by dogs or suddenly surprised in thin low 

 grass, standing in water, and thus difficult to progress through, 

 while it affords insufficient concealment, they rise with rapid 

 beats of the wings (apparently with some difficulty, and with 

 their large legs and feet hanging down) and soon drop again, 

 suddenly and Quail-like, into suitable cover. Indeed, seen from 

 a little distance, the colour of the upper surface and the flight 

 generally (once they are well on the wing) remind one much 

 of the Common Quail. 



Swimming about, they are miniature Water-Hens, jerking their 

 tails and nodding their heads just like these, and when wounded, 

 like these diving readily and then lying up in amongst the weeds 

 with only their bills above the surface. 



It is very rare to find them alone ; as a rule, where you find one 

 you will, if you search carefully, find several, and even if you 

 do not see them, you will, when you hear one call, almost 

 always hear three or four more calling round about. 



Their note is peculiar and very loud for the size of the bird ; 

 a single note, repeated slowly at first, and then several times in 

 rapid succession, winding up with a single and somewhat sharper 

 note in a different tone, as if the bird was glad that that perform- 

 ance was over. 



Judging from my limited experience, of the next species I 

 should say that the latter more affects broads and lakes, the 

 present species, swamps and rice fields. In other respects there 

 seems very little difference in the life-history of the two species. 



Others say that this species feeds very little on anything but 

 insects. I have always found quantities of small seeds and 

 remains of green vegetable matter in the stomachs, besides 

 tiny snail shells, water beetles, and all kinds of aquatic insects 

 and their larvae. On several occasions I have found the tiny 

 wild rice grains mixed with other food ; but though they keep so 

 much about rice fields, I never noticed that they had eaten paddy, 

 the grains being perhaps too large. 



I think they call chiefly during the hot season and rains. I 

 cannot remember ever hearing the familiar note during the 

 winter, though they are noisy birds during the summer, it being at 

 that season scarcely possible to overlook their call, " tootooing" 

 it out as they do morning and evening, and far into the night, on 

 moonlight nights. 



This SPECIES lays in July, August and September in the 

 plains of India, and in June and July in Kashmir and the 



