File:Indian sporting birds (1915) (14770458333).jpg

Identifier: indiansportingbi00finn (find matches)
Title: Indian sporting birds
Year: 1915 (1910s)
Authors: Finn, Frank, 1868-1932 Hume, Allan Octavian, 1829-1912 Marshall, Charles Henry Tilson, 1841-
Subjects: Birds -- India Game and game-birds -- India
Publisher: London : Francis Edwards
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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r area, and was actually onceobtained in Gilgit in early October, so that it is worth mentioningthat it is rather larger than a quail, with a short bill, and chestnutwings contrasting conspicuously with its streaky-brown upper-parts. It shows the barring on the sides so usual in rails, but thedarker bars are only light brown ; the rest of the under-parts areplain light brown, the breast and cheeks being grey in the summerdress. This is the only rail really esteemed in England, beingvery fat and good eating, though several of the family are habitu-ally shot in America and on the Continent. The peculiar doublecall, well rendered by Bechstein as arrp, schnarrj), is verycharacteristic of the bird in its summer haunts, but is notlikely to be heard in India. Ruddy Crake. * Amaurornis fitscus. This little crake, about the size of a quail, resembles theMalayan banded crake in having red legs and to some extent incolour, being chestnut on the face, neck and under-parts, but * Porzana on plate.
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<< <c Li-< U-J CCCDQ_ ELWESS CEAKE 111 it has no black-and-white barring, and the back of the head andupper-parts generally are olive-brown : in young birds this browntint replaces the chestnut on the fore-parts. Except in the extreme North-west, it is found over India,Burma, and, in winter, Ceylon. It extends through Assam toPegu and Arrakan. In some parts of India it is, however, littleknown, being only recorded from Mysore and the Wynaad in thePeninsula. It is sociable and fond of weed-covered ponds, on the vegetationof which it runs about, coming freely out of the cover on thebanks in the early morning, and feeding on the insects to befound on the leaves. It rises readily enough when disturbed,though some specimens prefer to dive and others to run to cover.In more open water it swims about like a moorhen. Besidesinsects, it eats seeds and greenstuff, and takes grit freely, likerails in general. By day it hides among the fringing herbage ofponds or cultivated land of a

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