220 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
retreat, takes to the water where it soon evades pursuit by swimming 
and diving. Food: aquatic insects and the green shoots of aquatn 
plants. 
nest. An open structure, composed of coarse grasses; generally placed 
at the base of a tussock of grass or reeds growing in or surrounded 
by water. 
eggs. Four or five, pale stone-brown, tinged with olive, and freckled, 
spotted and blotched with different shades of purplish-brown and grey 
markings. Breeding-season: August to January. 
4. Marsh Crake Porzana pusilla Pallas 
pu-sil'-la— L., pusillus, very small. 
distribution. Australia (coastal) and Tasmania; also occurs in 
the eastern hemisphere, Europe, Africa to Japan and New Guinea, and 
New Zealand. 
notes. Also called Little Crake. Usually singly or in pairs, frequent¬ 
ing swamps and reed or mangrove-lined streams and inlets. It is timid 
and wary, rarely leaving the seclusion of its haunts, and is a difficult 
species to observe. Although it swims and dives expertly, it prefers 
to keep to the shallows, seeking its food while wading. Its call-note is 
a sharp “Krek” or “Crake”, usually uttered at dusk or at daybreak. 
Food: aquatic insects, small freshwater molluscs, and the green shoots 
of aquatic plants. 
nest. A slightly concave structure, composed of dried coarse grasses 
and aquatic plants; generally well concealed, and built in a clump of 
reeds or a low bush growing in water. 
eggs. Five or six, varying from pale brown tinged with olive to dark 
olive-brown; some closely resemble pebbles, others are slightly covered 
with streaks of a darker shade of the ground colour. Breeding-season; 
October to January. 
5. Spotless Crake Porzana plurnbca Gray 
plum'-be-a— L., plumbcus , leaden. 
distribution. Eastern and southern Australia, and Tasmania; 
also occurs in the Malay Archipelago, Philippine Islands to Tonga, 
New Zealand, and Chatham Islands. 
notes. Also called Leaden Crake, Tabuan Crake, Swamp-rail, Little 
Swamp-hen, Pukeko, and Putoto. Usually singly or in pairs, frequent¬ 
ing swamps and the reed-lined margins of streams. It is similar in 
habits and economy to the Spotted and Marsh Crakes. 
nest. An open structure, composed of dried, coarse grass-stalks; 
generally built low down in a tussock of grass. 
eggs. Four or five, sometimes as many as seven, pale creamy-brown, 
thickly covered with faint markings of light chestnut-brown. Breeding- 
season: September or October to January. 
