330 
CRAKES. 
Crex, Bechstein. — Generic characters. — Bill 
short, strong at the base ; culmen entering the 
plumage of the forehead, its outline slightly 
deflected to the tip ; maxilla angulated ; nasal 
fossa broad ; nostrils pierced in its membrane ; 
wings, at the carpal angle armed with a knob 
or rudimentary spine, rather short, concave, 
second or third quills longest; legs strong, 
naked for a short space above the tarsal joint ; 
anterior toes long, slender, cleft to their base ; 
hallux short, articulated nearly on the plane of 
the others. 
Types, C. pratensis, porzana, gularis, &c. Cos- 
mopolite. 
Note . — Habits skulking ; chiefly aquatic ; breed 
on the ground ; and lay numerous eggs ; noisy 
and often nocturnal. 
