278 Capt. H. S. Stokes—Breeding of the Cayenne Crake


dark rosy red. It was a good number of years ago that I got my first

specimens, which I found being unpacked after their voyage from

Brazil in Chapman’s shop one Christmas morning. This pair built

a large nest in a bush, as recorded by Mr. Shore Baily in Aviculture,

vol. iii, but unfortunately one of the pair died.


After some years I bought six more from two fellow members, and

turned them all into one aviary for lack of space. Every summer

they built a large spherical nest with the entrance at the side, and

about 5 feet from the ground. All the Crakes used to spend the

day sitting together in the nest, and any eggs that were laid were

doubtless smashed. Gradually the birds were reduced by death to

two, which we thought were a pair, but any expectation of their

breeding had long been given up.


However, on the 7th August of this year, my aviary attendant saw

what she thought was a black mouse scuttling across the sanded floor,

and on watching carefully found it to be a baby Crake. We have no

idea how many eggs were laid, or what was the period of incubation.

The baby, which was covered with black down, was fed by its parents

on greenfly, which were present in quantities on some hops growing

in the aviary, and we supplemented these with a few small mealworms

and chopped earth worms. At the beginning of September the young

bird was fully grown, and brown like its parents, only a trace of black

remaining on its face. It can now be seen bathing in the pool and

feeding from the dish of insectivorous food.


The aviary the Crakes are in has a brick shed for shelter, moderately

warmed in the winter, and a long flight backed by a brick wall. It is

thickly planted with shrubs at the back, but has a clear sanded space

in front, with a small post in the middle.


I find a thickly sanded floor to be best for all ground birds. Concrete

or gravel are apt to give them corns, and grass is difficult to keep

in order. We spread a good thick layer of ashes to provide sharp

drainage, and then lay 6 inches or more of washed sand over the

ashes. This is raked over two or three times a week, and keeps in good

condition.


I believe this is the first occasion on which the Cayenne Crake has

been bred in this country.



