A HISTORY OF RUTLAND Near Normanton eggs are to be found as early as 28 March (1904, 1905), and Mr. A. E. G. Dixon records a nest with nine eggs 30 ft. from the ground in a larch tree. 147. Partridge. Perdtx ctnerea^ Latham. Abundant. T. Barker of Lyndon notes in his diary for 1790 that ' Partridges had already been hatched some days on 5 March,' which seems incredibly early, the dates otherwise recorded varying between 6 May and 24 June. Seventeen and eighteen eggs are occasionally found in the same nest. A grey-coloured variety has occurred once or twice in the Exton district.* 148. Red-legged Partridge. Caccabh rufa (Linn.). Introduced into Rutland about 1 850 by Sir Gilbert Heathcote. The first nest re- corded was in 1858, but the bird had not become common fifteen years later. By 1880 it had increased a good deal and, it is now plentiful, but not so common as the indigenous breed. As many as twenty eggs have been found in one nest, and the bird occasionally nests at a height above the ground. 149. Quail. Coturnix communis, Bonnaterre. Appears every spring, and a certain number certainly breed every year. It is, however, nothing like so numerous as it used to be, when A. C. Elliot described it in 1883 as common and breeding all along the high lands from Casterton to Edith Weston. In 1904 a considerable number were reported, four at Ridlington in September, Mr. Wortley taking a brace with right and left, and a bevy of nine at Morcott in August, and several others later in the year. Several nests are on record ; two about 1850 near Uppingham, one about 1870 near Barrowden, a nest with one egg near Liddington in 1872, and another with one egg near Seaton in 1898. The bird ha; been recorded, besides the above localities, at Gretton, Bisbrooke, Casterton, Caldecott, Preston, CHpsham, Egleton, Whitwell, Burley, Ayston, Thistleton, Exton, LufiFenham, and Lyndon. The Virginian Quail {Ortyx vlrginianus) was imported and turned down in 1870 near ' An ancient way of taking partridges in Rut- land about the fifteenth century seems to have been for the sportsmen to carry a w.ind about 1 5 ft. long with a noose of twisted horsehair at the end and stalk the sitting bird, slipping the noose over its head, much in the s.ime way appar- ently as they catch ftilmars in the island of St. Kilda. the borders of Rutland, and some of these birds strayed into the county, but the severe winter of 1880-1 caused them to disappear entirely. 150. Land-Rail, or Corn-Crake. Crex pra- tensis, Bechstein. Breeds over the county, but in lessening numbers. It arrives at the end of April, as a rule, but was seen on 1 1 April 1893, ^"'^ °" 14 May 1904 I found, near Seaton, four eggs freshly sucked by carrion-crows, an early date for their nest. 151. Spotted Crake. Porzana maruetta (Leach). Reported in 1883 as ' not rare ; found on the Gwash and Welland.' One was picked up dead 16 January 1883, a second killed at Preston in the autumn of 1893, and another found under the telegraph wires in September 1897. The last recorded specimen was killed at Burley in 1903. 152. Little Crake. Porzana parva {^zo^oW). Found on the Gwash and Welland (A. C. Elliot). One is recorded as killed at Caster- ton before 1883, and Lord Gainsborough flushed one near Exton in 1892. 153. Water- Rail. Rallus aquaticus, Linn. Localh, Bilcock. Plentiful on the rivers, but from its skulk- ing habits seldom seen (A. C. Elliot). It has been reported from various places in the county, and several have been picked up under the telegraph wires. In January 1901 four or five were shot on the Welland. It is certain that the bird occasionally breeds in the district, but only one nest has been definitely recorded. This was at Burley Ponds, and had one egg in it. [Green-backed Gallinule. Porphyria smarag- donotus. A single very handsome specimen of this bird was killed at Liddington on 5 March 1898. Reasons have been given for suppos- ing that this species is occasionally cast upon our shores by prevailing high winds, and in 1897, 1898 a considerable number of occur- rences of this species was reported from the seaboard counties]. 154. Moorhen. GalUnula chloropus {L n.). Extremely common throughout the district, except during the winter, when few, if any, are to be seen. The earliest nest recorded was on 15 April 1901. As many as ten eggs have been found in one nest. 72
