THE RUDDY CRAKE. 221 



ring is ignored, and the legs and feet are, in my opinion, 

 much too coarse and thick. 



The bird is so placed as not to show that the occiput and 

 back of the neck are the same colour as the wings and back, 

 which, by the way, are not dark enough in the plate. Moreover, 

 from the glimpse afforded of them, the plate would lead to the 

 conclusion that the under tail-coverts were red, whereas the 

 whole of the lower abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts are 

 blackish to umber brown, sparingly and more or less irregularly 

 barred with greyish white. 



It may be well to notice that the young of the year are so 

 different that they might be mistaken for a different species. 



They entirely want the rufous tint, and have the entire chin 

 and throat white, and the rest of the lower surface dull earthy 

 olive brown, mottled or imperfectly barred with brownish white. 

 Towards the end of November they begin to assume the rufous 

 tint (which, in their case, is ferruginous and lacks the rich 

 vinaceous hue of the adult), which first appears on the lores, 

 cheeks, and ear-coverts, and then spreads in spots on to the lower 

 throat, breast, &c. 



