The Crakes. 
BAILLON’S 
CRAKE. 
(Porzana intermedia. 
THE MOOR-HEN. 
( Gallinula cliloropus.) 
This, is a smaller species than any of the foregoing, and 
has the wing about three-and-a-half-inches in length. It is 
brown, sparsely spotted with white on the back, and has the 
sides of face, throat and chest grey, but it can always be 
distinguished by its uniform brownish-grey axillaries, these being barred with white 
in the Spotted Crakes. 
Baillon’s Crake has been found in spring and autumn in Great Britain, but is 
very rare. It is, however, believed to nest occasionally in England. It is distributed 
over the greater part of Central and Southern Europe, and is found in winter on the 
Persian Gulf and in Africa. The nest is made of rushes, and the eggs, from six to 
eight in number, are olive brown with spots of reddish brown and dark grey : they 
measure a little over an inch in len gth. 
This is a well-known 
inhabitant of our rivers 
and marshes, and is a 
resident species in all parts of Great Britain. 
It is found all over Europe and Asia, and 
also occurs in Africa and Madagascar. The 
Moor-Hen is easily recognised from the 
other British Rails by its larger size, by the 
red shield on its forehead, and by the red 
band above the tarsal joint, both of which 
characters, as well as the white markings on 
the flanks, are plainly seen when the bird is 
swimming. 
It is much less shy than the other species 
of Rails and is now to be seen in many of 
our London parks, where it is as tame as 
the other water-fowl. It is said to do some 
damage by eating the eggs of game-birds 
and ducks, but its principal food consists ol 
worms and insects. The nest is a com- 
pactly built round structure of flags and 
sedge among rushes or on a branch overhanging the water. The eggs are from 
seven to nine in number, and are of a stony-buff colour, with reddish brown or 
blackish spots and grey underlying ones. They measure from one-and-a-half to 
two-inches in length. 
Two species of these brilliantly coloured birds have been 
recorded as having been shot in England, viz. : the Purple 
Gallinule ( P . cceruleus) of Southern Spain and the Green- 
backed Gallinule (P. porphyrio) of Africa. As, however, these 
The Moor-Hen. 
THE PURPLE 
GALLINULES. 
Genus 
PORPH YRIO. 
