BIRDS the speckled plumage have often been mis- taken for hybrids with the common partridge. 185. Quail. Ceturnix communis, Bonnztcrre. A rather irregular summer migrant, more plentiful in some years than in others. The nest has been occasionally found. 186. Corn-Crake or Land-Rail. Crex pra- tensis, Bechstein. In Suffolk people usually shoot the ' land- rail ' but hear the ' corn-crake,' as the latter name appeals more to the ear. This bird is a rather late summer migrant, nesting in meadows and cornfields, where it makes its presence known by its oft-repe;.ted * crake- crake.' Comparatively few people know it by sight, and a beautiful specimen which struck the telegraph wires near Bury in May, 1 90 1, was a puzzle to a gang of railway workmen, not one of whom could name it. 187. Spotted Crake. Porzana maruetta (Leach) One or two pairs may nest in the county still, but this bird is chiefly an autumn visitant. Mr. G. T. Rope has found it nesting at Leiston, ' where in the marshes on the Lower Abbey Farm there was a large reed-bed or " reedland," since drained and done away with. The Spotted Crake bred there in 1872 and my brother and I found the nest, or more strictly speaking our dog found it. The young were on the point of hatching and an addled egg and a drawing of one of the chicks were sent to the Field office' (G. T. R. in litt.). In the summer of 1866 the naturalists at Aldeburgh were much perplexed by the call of a bird repeatedly heard in the mere nearest the town, and there is little doubt that the ' weet-weet ' was produced by the spotted crake (Hele). 188. Little Crake. Porzana parva {Scopoli) A very rare visitant, which has doubtless often escaped notice from its small size and skulking habits. One was killed on Oulton Broad in 1830, which Dr. Babington con- sidered the ' only one which can with cer- tainty be counted on as having occurred in Suffolk.' 189. Baillon's Crake. Perzana hailloni (Vieillot) The records of this rare visitant do not appear to be very satisfactory or very recent, but as Dr. Babington has admitted its claim and Mr. Saunders states that ' Baillon's crake has occurred in Suffolk ' {Manual, p. 513) it is included here, especially as there are several good records from Norfolk, and it is believed to have nested in that county. It may be roughly described as a very small spotted crake, 190. Water-Rail. Rallus aquaticus, Linn. A resident breeding in marshes and reed- beds, but not common except in winter, when the numbers are increased by the arrival of migrants. 191. Moor-Hen. Gallinula chloropus (Linn.) A common resident, also known as the water-hen, breeding on the edges of lakes, rivers and ponds, and even in ditches, where its nest may be found from early in April till late in June, as it rears two broods in a season. During a flood in the Norton meadows in June, 1902, which must have destroyed many hundreds of eggs, a sitting moorhen raised her nest and eggs with sedge and reeds to a height of about 18 inches above the original site of the nest and kept them high and dry. In a long frost these birds suffer severely, and in the intense frost of February, 1895, some were found dead at Tostock in rabbit burrows into which they had evidently crept for shelter. 192. Coot. Fulica atra, hinn, A resident far less common than the moor- hen but breeding both in marshes near the sea and on inland waters. Bartonmere, before it had shrunk to its present condition, was a favourite haunt, and in 1 90 1 several pairs nested on Drinkstone Park water. * There are a few women in the town who are regularly employed to prepare the coot for cooking. It appears the down under the feathers is so close and thick as to necessitate its removal after the bird is plucked. Thisi is done by first rubbing the surface with pow- dered resin, afterwards dipping the entire body into hot water. By this means the resin, becomes dissolved and mingling with the down allows it to be removed with tolerable ease' (Hele, Notes about Aldeburgh, ed. 1890^ p. 86). 193. Crane. Grus communis, Btchste. . Though it is quite possible that the crane may have bred in the fens of Suffolk long ago there are only two records of its occurrence in recent times, both of them in the Lowes- toft district. One was shot at Kirkley in a barley field in April, 1845 (Babington, Cata- logue, p. 157), and the other at Benacre in the last week of June, 1 893, which was pre- served for Sir Alfred Gooch by Mr. Bunn of Lowestoft. 203
