220 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
reed-lined banks of swamps and streams. It is extremely shy and war)', 
keeping to the seclusion of the reeds and herbage. When startled, it 
disappears from sight with amazing quickness, and if driven from its 
retreat, takes to the water where it soon evades pursuit by swimming and 
diving. Food : aquatic insects and the green shoots of aquatic 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 
pn-sil'-lci —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, fre¬ 
quenting 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 
k if P shadows seeking its food while wading. Its’call-note is a 
sharp Krek or Crake, usually uttered at dusk or at daybreak. Food • 
plants 10 mSeCtS ’ Sma freshwater molluscs, and the green shoots of aquatic 
Nest—A slightly concave structure, composed of dried coarse 
orr S e S e e ds a or a a Tow 1C h„ P antS; WeU COnceal U and built in a Sp 
oi reeas or a low bush growing in water. v 
dark £ on;-e~bfmvn° r c SiX ' fr ° m pale brown tin S ed with olive to 
covered wi'th s r^k T" ?° S t ely T esembIe pebbles > others are slightly 
seaso^Oc!ober ,o J^Lry ^ °‘ the 8TOUnd col ““ r - Breedi ^ 
5. Spotless Crake Porzana plumbea Gray 
plum-be-a —L., plumbeus, leaden. 
occuiS 1 fn^the°MTi? aSt \ rn i ?n< ? soutl ^rn Australia, and Tasmania; also 
Zea'land^aiid 6 Chatfoun ^shinds!^ 0 * PhlUppine Islands to Ton ^ Ne ' v 
Swamp^eFpilSko^and^f? F b H an Crake - Swamp-rail, Little 
swamps and the reed-lined'ma^it^oTsfrS 7 Tt “« 
and economy to the Spotted an d Marsh Crakes ty** 
thickly^covered with *fahi^nrfrk™ 63 as . n ! an >’ as seven, pale creamy-brown, 
season : September or October tojanulry 8 ^ chestnut ' brown - Breeding- 
