By the Rev. A. C. Smith. 



69 



Balso to him is its disinclination to rise, and the rapidity with which 

 jit skulks with depressed head through the stubble; and if forced 

 Ito take wing where it can drop into cover again, it will fly with 

 (legs hanging down and prepared to run the instant it alights. It 

 is common enough in our corn-fields in summer, and yet it is a 

 [genuine Rail, and resorts to damp meadows and marshy soil to 

 'seek its food. It is a true migrant and never winters with us ; but 

 in May its harsh croaking cry of crek, crek, may be frequently 

 heard; and the bird which produces it has the remarkable power 

 of the ventriloquist in causing the note to sound now on this side 

 now on that, now under your feet, now at the farther end of the 

 field ; and many a hopeless chase, and many a bewildered and 

 baffled pursuer has been the result of this peculiarity. Gilbert 

 White speaks of it as having been abundant in the low wet bean- 

 fields of Christian Malford in North Wilts. 



"Spotted Crake." (Crex porzana.) Though not in reality un- 

 common, this sombre-clad little species is so retiring and timid in 

 its nature, and seeks such little-frequented quiet ponds for its 

 haunts, that it escapes observation, and is supposed by many to be 

 a rarer bird than it really is. I have heard of several in Wiltshire, 

 and the late Mr. Marsh killed one in some marshy ground at 

 Christian Malford in October, 1849. It is, like its congener, a 

 migrant, but unlike that species it is one of the earliest to arrive, 

 and one of the latest to depart. Its general plumage is dark green 

 and brown, speckled with white. 



" Water-Rail." (Rallus aquaiicus.) This is a very common bird 

 in wet and marshy districts ; and I am told is especially common 

 in the low lands near Salisbury. I have shot it in the water 

 meadows at Old Park, near Devizes, and I have instances of its 

 occurrence in all parts of the county. Like all other members of 

 the family it seeks safety in running amidst coarse herbage, and in 

 hiding itself in the thickest cover it can find ; and I have seen it 

 when driven by a dog from its place of refuge, fly up and settle in 

 the branches of a thick bush, in preference to seeking safety by 

 flight. It will on occasion run on the water, making use of the 

 flags and floating water plants as stepping stones in its course, and 



