The rail, corn crake, or daker hen, (rallus cres) arrives in Scotland about the middle of May, and his note is heard, whenever the meadow, sown grass, or corn fields, are so long as to cover or conceal him when running. Its call is pleasant, from the cir cumstance of its ushering in our summer. We name them crakes, from the sound which they emit re sembling crake, crake, crake. They run along the ground with surprising swiftness, and their cry may be heard in every corner of an inclosure, of 20 or 30 acres, in a very few minutes. Although they are unquestionably birds of passage, they are seldom seen either going from, or returning to this country. There are great numbers of them in Scotland, Ire land, Anglesea, and some other parts of `Vales; but they are rather scarce throughout England, except in the northern counties. They generally lay from eight to twelve eggs, and the young crakes run as soon as they burst the shell ; but the mower's scythe is frequently fatal to them, by sweeping away the nest before this period arrives. The partridge fowler falls in with them among the turnips and the late stand ing corns, in which they take shelter when the other fields become bare. They frequently foil the point ers, by making sudden stops and squats, by which means they often overshoot them ; but a known dog is commonly aware of this trick ; however, they have always much difficulty in springing them, and are obliged sometimes to run hard to force them on the wing ; they fly slowly, and are easily brought down, even by an inexpert fowler. They leave us whenever the fields are clear of the growing corns.
It has beep said, that wherever rails are plentiful, there also quails abound, (tetrao colturnix). This is an assertion which we know to be ill founded, as the quail is a scarce bird with us, although crakes are numerous. Indeed, thcy seem to delight more in haunting warm than cold climates, for in and other parts of the south, a hundred may be found for one that we have in our northern kingdoms. We have seen a few bevies in the county of IL:Minton, and two or three single birds in Fife, but in no other places of Scotland. Daniel, in his Rural Sports, tells us, " that the quail seems to spread entirely throughout the old tvorld, but does not inhabit the new." From what source he derives this information we cannot say, but he is certainly much mistaken, as we have shot many hundreds in America, and have seen thousands in a day brought both to the markets of Philadelphia and New York. They are, it is true, on account of their great size in comparison with the European quail,* (weighing about eight ounces,) called by some Dutchmen and old English inhabi tants partridges, but they have all the distinguishing marks of the real colturnis, and also the peculiar note of whit, whit, whit, which quails often repeat when running, flying, or calling to their young. If press
ed by dogs, they frequently perch upon trees, which partridges seldom or never do. They are the only species of the tetrao genus that migrate, and this characterises them in America, as well as in every other part of the world. As grouse and partridges are the principal birds of sport with our British fow lers, so are quails with those of America. In the state of New York, one person, with a dog and a gun, will often kill six or seven brace before noon. In America, they frequent the wheat and maize stubbles during the day, and retire generally to the woodlands to pass the night. Instead of the quail pipe and net, the farmers there generally use traps, gins ; these they place in the tracks which those birds make in their way from the woods to the corn-, fields. It is upon the first appearance of dawn that they traverse this ground ; and they are then taken in great numbers, and are brought to market by the country people along with the rest of their poultry. The time of the arrival of the few which we have in Scotland has not been well ascertained, but they de part early in October.
The (caprimulgus Europerus,) called in several places of England the goat-milker, fern and churn owl, appears in Scotland about the first of June. It derives its name from the once received be lief of its sucking the teats of the goat. This opi nion was, so far as we know, first patronised by Aristotle, although perhaps held as a truth long be fore his time. But the idea is now, by every rational naturalist, completely exploded. When twilight sets in, the goat-sucker is commonly discovered sitting upon the stump or bough of a leafless-tree, or flut tering amidst the dust of some beaten road. It emits a singular vibrating sound, something (as has been observed) like the noise of a large woollen spin ning wheel ; and when pursuing or addressing its mate, gives a shrill quick cry, which is supposed to be the language of love. Kahn and Linnzus seem to confound this bird with the capiundgus minor r• Americana: of Catesby, both making them only va rieties, and not a distinct species, which they un doubtedly are. Kalm says, their shape, colour, size, and other qualities, make it difficult to distin guish them from each other." In shape, as being birds of the same genus, they certainly have some re semblance, and they are both migratory. But they differ in every other thing ; the plumage of the Ame rican is by many shades darker, more spotted, and also in respect of size somewhat larger, than the Eu ropean goat-sucker. What particularly distinguishes the first, is its peculiar call, whip-poor-will, from which the Anglo-Americans give it that name. They fly during the day, which none of our species ever do. About the beginning of September the Euro pean goat-sucker disappears in Scotland.