180. _The LAND-RAIL, or CORN-CRAKE_ (Rallus crex), _is distinguished by having a short and strong bill, and the legs situated far back; the feathers of the back black, edged with bay, and the wings of a reddish rusty colour._ _The usual weight of these birds is from six to eight ounces. They are found, during summer, in corn-fields, but are migratory, and seldom seen after the middle of September._ The remarkable cry of "crek, crek, crek," uttered by these birds in meadows and corn-fields before the grass and corn are cut, is well known. It is heard from the thickest part of the herbage: and, when any person approaches the spot, so great is the rapidity with which they run, that it is, almost in an instant afterwards, heard forty or fifty paces distant. When pursued by dogs, these birds persist in keeping upon the ground, and they may sometimes be taken even with the hand. They often stop short and squat, and the dog, overshooting the mark, loses his trace. When driven to the last extremity they rise, but they fly heavily, and generally with their legs hanging down. They do not fly far before they alight: they then run off, and, before the sportsman can reach the place, are at a considerable distance. Sometimes the land-rail will alight upon a hedge, in which case it will perch and sit motionless till the pursuer (who thinks it is upon the ground) almost touches it. When they first appear these birds are quite lean, but, before their departure, they become so fat that the author of Rural Sports informs us he has frequently been obliged to wrap his handkerchief round them, when killed, to prevent the fat which exuded from the shot-holes from soiling other birds. The females lay twelve or more eggs of reddish cinereous white colour, marked with rusty and ash-coloured spots and blotches. The nest is loosely formed of moss or dry grass, generally in some hollow place among thick grass. ORDER VI.--SWIMMERS, OR ANSERES. 181. _The WILD SWAN, or HOOPER_ (Anas cygnus), _is distinguished from the tame swan (182) by having the cere or naked skin at the base of the bill yellow and not black; and being of smaller size._ _These birds are found in the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America._ On several of the lochs or lakes of Scotland wild swans are very numerous; and they are known, at a great distance, by their cry, which is not much unlike the sound of a clarionet blown by a novice in music.