THE BROWN AND ASHY CRAKE. 227 



of rain, if the sky be still cloudy, they may be observed at any 

 hour picking about in the short grass, feeding at that time 

 chiefly on small worms. 



Mr. F. R. Blewitt says : — " I must consider the Brown and 

 Ashy Crake a rather rare bird. For forty years an ardent 

 sportsman in many parts of Upper India, and specially devoted 

 to Snipe-shooting, I have only met with it in Jhansf, Saugor 

 and Raipur. In the Sambalpur District* I frequently searched 

 for it in favourable localities, but without success. In the Raipur 

 District itself the Rail is very rare ; only on four occasions 

 did I and my men meet with it there. 



" I have met with it almost always singly ; on rare occasions 

 in pairs. Its favourite resorts are swamps, the reeds and bushes 

 on the edges of streams, and the tangled amphibious coverts on 

 the borders of water-courses. A favourite place of abode, too, is the 

 marshy ground occupied by screw-pine plants, the branches and 

 broad leaves of which it ascends like Gallinula phcenicura 

 with wonderful agility. I have always found it a shy bird, 

 seeking at once a place of security on the slightest alarm. 

 Frequently I have witnessed it half emerge from the rushes, 

 either to feed or change its retreat, and then pause, carefully 

 scanning the neighbourhood before venturing onward. When 

 walking, it ever and anon jerks up its short tail. It runs with 

 rapidity, and when once concealed, it is very difficult to flush it. 

 Indeed, it would appear rightly to trust far more for safety to its 

 speed of foot and aptitude for concealment than to its powers 

 of flight. 



" Slowly and heavily does it fly, and never to any distance, and 

 with good dogs it may be run down and secured. This Rail 

 has a low, short, plaintive note, which, however, I have only heard 

 it utter at day-dawn and just before sunset." 



Again, from Mount Abu Captain Butler wrote:— "This Crake 

 occurs on hills and in the plains, frequenting rocky nallas, beds 

 of rivers, and marshy grounds. It is seldom seen, as It prefers 

 hiding in the long grass or rushes or in a thick bush to taking 

 wing when disturbed. It runs with great speed, and I have 

 often seen them go to ground under a large stone or in a hole 

 in the bank, and remain there for upwards of 15 or 20 minutes 

 before emerging again, so as to escape observation. They swim 

 well, and closely resemble the Common Water-Hen in their 

 habits, jerking the tail constantly when walking, in exactly the 

 same manner as that species. I have found them in hedgerows, 

 occasionally at considerable distances from the water. It is by 

 no means common, and I do not fancy it migrates, as I shot a 

 specimen at Mount Abu in the middle of May. Of course it 

 moves from those parts of the country where the rivers and 

 marshes are dry during the hot weather." 



* South of the Mahanadi. It occurs in this district north of this river.— A. O. H. 



