that bird. The nests that we found were always well 

 concealed amongst the dense masses of reeds and sedge 

 that fringe and often conceal the runs of fresh water 

 that meander through the vast open "marisma," — a 

 district that in rainy seasons or very high, tides is 

 frequently entirely submerged. The nests that I 

 examined were exact miniature copies of those of the 

 common Water-Hen, being loosely composed of reed- 

 leaves, flags, and sedge. The usual full complement of 

 eggs was seven ; but we occasionally met with five or 

 six partially " set," and, in once instance, with eight. 

 These eggs vary in colour from a very pale green to 

 a dark olive ground, but are always very closely 

 streaked and spotted with brown. The young birds 

 on leaving the egg are entirely clad with thick jet-black 

 down. Towards evening these birds come out for a 

 short distance from the thick covert that they love so 

 well, and, as far as I could make out, feed largely upon 

 mosquitos and other small insects ; but on the slightest 

 alarm they glide back at marvellous speed to the safety 

 of the jungle. 



I do not know any bird that is so difficult to flush 

 as this ; the most close hunting-dogs are frequently 

 entirely baffled, and this species pre-eminently merits the 

 nickname of " Mataperros," = Kill-dogs, applied to it 

 and the other species of the family by the Spanish 

 marsh-men. The only remains of food that I could 

 find in these Crakes by post-mortem examination con- 

 sisted of small insects and fragments of minute shells ; 

 but I must admit that I never examined them under a 

 microscope. This species swims easily and readily, 



