832 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Breeding-habits. — Haunts marshes and undrained river-banks. 

 Nest. — Usually in a clump or tussock of sedge or marsh-grass, built 

 of coarse vegetable matter with lining of grasses. Eggs. — 8 to 12 

 as a rule, exceptionally ranging to 15. Olive-buff in ground with 

 jmrplish-brown and ashy-grey blotches and spots. Average of 100 

 eggs, 33.62X24.57. Max.: 37.5x24.8 and 33x26.8. ffin.: 29.1 

 X23 and 32x22.2 mm. Breeding -season. — May to early June in 

 Central Europe ; up to July in Finland. Incubation. — Apparently 

 shared by sexes as male has been recorded incubating. No reliable 

 information as to period. Probably single brooded normally. 

 Food. — Includes both animal and vegetable matter. Insects : 

 coleoptera (Otiorhynchus, etc.) ; odonata (Agrion), lepidoptera 

 larva?, and also larvae of Phryganeidoe, etc. Mollusca, chiefly small 

 univalves (Bithynia, Limncea, etc.). Vegetable matter includes 

 seeds of Ranunculus, Comarum, Polygonum, Sparganium, Panicum, 

 etc., and fragments of aquatic plants. 



Distribution. — British Isles. — Rare summer resident and scarce 

 passage -migrant (March-May and Aug. -Nov.), occasionally winter- 

 ing. Now rarely recorded breeding but probably still does so occa- 

 sionally in some southern English counties and in East Anglia 

 (Gurney estimated three broods Norfolk, 1918), Trent Valley, 

 Yorks, and Brecon and possibly elsewhere. Formerly bred more 

 commonly and as far north as southern Scotland (bred Roxburgh, 

 1912), but Elgin record unlikely. Scarce autumn-migrant except 

 in north-west and north Scotland where very rare, once Hebrides, 

 rarely Orkneys and Shetlands. In Ireland uncommon autumn, 

 occasional winter -visit or. Bred (apparently commonly) Ros- 

 common about 1851, apparently young bird taken Kerry and heard 

 calling several nights Waterford, May, 1900. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Europe from Norway and Finland to 

 Mediterranean and larger Mediterranean Islands, possibly (?) N.W. 

 Africa ; east to W. Siberia and Altai, south to Gilgit in N.W. India. 

 Migratory, in winter south to Madeira, Canary Is., S. Algeria, eastern 

 Sudan, and Abyssinia, E. and (twice) S. Africa, India from Sind to 

 Arrakan. One Greenland. 



PORZANA CAROLINA 



479. Porzana Carolina (L.)— THE CAROLINA CRAKE. 



Ralltjs carolinus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 153 (1758 — X. 

 America. Restricted typical locality : Hudson Bay). 

 Porzana Carolina, Yarrell, in, p. 147 (in text) ; Saunders, p. 510 (in text) ; 

 Lort Phillips, Bull. B.O.C., xn, p. 26. 



Description. — Adult male. Winter. — Fore-head, lores, round 

 anterior part of eye, chin and stripe down centre of throat black ; 

 broad stripe over eyes joining across fore-part of crown extending 

 down sides of nape and sides of throat ashy slate-grey, with ill- 

 defined greenish-brown stripe from back of eye through ear-coverts ; 

 crown and nape brown with broad black median stripe ; back of 



