500 NOTES BY RURICOLA. 



that they seem to have no fear of him whilst he is at work in the 

 garden, and will come without scruple within a short distance of the 

 spot where he is employed. Indeed, the garden is one of their con- 

 iinnul places of resort ; so that I have been much amused by seeing 

 them roving about, sometimes on the greensward under the canopy of 

 the spreading beech-tree, 



" patulffi sub tegmine fagi," 



and sometimes on the beds in the flower garden, busily engaged in 

 picking up their food, which consists of worms, insects, seeds, and 

 generally such productions as the common domestic fowls are fond of; 

 which, indeed, they resemble in some of their habits, particularly in 

 the sort of clucking, by which the mother calls her young about her. 



I have seen them engaged in feeding on the same spot with the 

 domestic fowls, and apparently in pursuit of the same objects : they 

 did not appear, however, to associate at all with each other ; on the 

 contrary, some symptoms of hostility, as resenting the invasion of each 

 other's territories, were observed to pass between them. 



I spoke just now of injuries sustained by these birds from gins that 

 had been set for rats, but by which the water hens had unfortunately 

 been trapped. Two of our party have in consequence lost each a leg. 

 On enquiring of the gardener whether this loss affected their swimming 

 or flying, as it evidently must their walking, he thought not. The 

 bird, of which I just now made mention, as rising before me, is one of 

 the mutilated animals ; and, so far as I could notice, its flight war- 

 ranted the opinion of the gardener. I could not, however, be so 

 minute in my observations, as to ascertain whether he is right in saying 

 that, when they fly, they draw their legs up to the body. This is 

 not agreeable to Col. Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary, which says 

 that the Gallinula " flies badly, with its legs hanging down." One of 

 the family, however, testifies to having remarked them passing over 

 the water on the wing, but with the legs depending, and almost 

 touching, and, as it were, walking on the surface. On my further 

 reference to my friend, the gardener, he repeats his former statement, 

 and, at the same time confirms the other, adding in explanation, that 

 when the birds are taking a short flight with intent to alight again 

 soon, they fly with their legs hanging down ; but that they gather them 

 up when they are employed in a more distant flight. 



These birds are sometimes seen perched among the branches of a 

 Portugal laurel : and not uncommonly creeping amid a bed of " the 



