"Away they fly, Affectionate, and, undesiring, bear The most delicious morsel to their young." But the context shows that Thomson is not referring to doves, but to Turdi and warblers that build "Among the roots Of hazel pendent o'er the plaintive stream." And these do feed their callow young as represented in the poem, though the Columbidæ certainly do not. We observe that Mr. T. B. Snowie, of Inverness, has recently been so fortunate as to secure a specimen of the spotted crake or Crex porzana, a very rare bird indeed, of which we never saw a living specimen. It seems, however, to be a more regular visitor to our shores than is imagined, specimens having from time to time been met with in almost all parts of Scotland. Our friend Mr. Robert Gray, in his excellent volume on The Birds of the West of Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, writes of the spotted crake as follows:--"So far as I have observed, the spotted crake is a very uncommon species in the western counties; it is, however, more numerously distributed throughout the eastern counties, extending from Orkney to Berwickshire. In Aberdeen and Forfar shires, according to Macgillivray, it can scarcely be called very rare. 'In Scotland,' says Mr. More in the Ibis, 'the nest has been found only in Perth, Aberdeen, and at Loch Spynie, in Elgin; but as birds have been repeatedly taken in the breeding season in Banffshire, Fife, East Lothian, and Berwick, it is not unreasonable to infer that the species nest in these counties also. In the west of Scotland, the spotted crake has been taken in Wigtonshire, Renfrewshire, and Argyllshire; but I have no authentic instance of its occurrence north of the last-named district. In its habits this bird closely resembles its congener the water-rail, and, like it, is not easily flushed from its haunts. Although a migratory species, the spotted crake appears to come early, specimens being occasionally taken about the beginning of April; as a rule, it also lingers much later than other migratory birds, stray examples having been shot in November, December, and even January, so that it is absent not more than two or three months. It may, indeed, be yet found to be, in some of the southern districts, permanently resident. From its shy and unobtrusive habits, and its life of seclusion and silence in marshy places, from which it but rarely issues, it is much less frequently seen than birds which try to escape by flight when disturbed. Rather than take wing, it will thrust itself, when molested, into any hole or tuft of grass, and remain concealed until quiet is restored; and on this account the comparative numbers of the species cannot readily be ascertained.'"