Il6 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



One I watched always jumped clear of the water when it took 

 win^ and did not run, paddling along the surface, as it is said 

 to do when frightened ; indeed, it is difficult to frighten. This 

 bird, when swimming amongst the weeds, often mounted anjd 

 tripped across a floating lily-pad, but was not long enough on 

 its feet for me to notice " the quaint perky dignity of the Moor- 

 hen," which struck Miss M. Haviland when she saw it on the 

 land on the Yenesei. Its action when swimming, however, 

 certainly suggested Moorhen. The notes of the bird are 

 variously described, but no combination of letters conveys to 

 my mind the short, low whistle that the bird repeatedly gave 

 when on the wing. Miss Haviland, who saw the bird in its 

 breeding haunts, speaks of a rapidly repeated zhit, zhif, as the 

 bird flitted round "rather like a big red moth." 



In winter dress the back is clear pearl grey, the wings more 

 smoky and mottled ; the forehead, crown, and under parts are 

 white, and on the wing is a well-defined white bar. From the 

 eye a dark streak runs back towards the slate nape. White edges 

 show on the wing-coverts and dull streaks on the flanks. The 

 bill is black, the legs dark grey, the irides brown. In summer 

 the female, which, according to Herr Manniche, does all the 

 courting and bullies the male into undertaking the more 

 feminine domestic duties, is the more brightly coloured bird. 

 The warm chestnut of the under parts is the most noticeable 

 colour ; it is a grey bird in winter, a red bird in summer, a 

 not uncommon sequence in sandpipers. The upper parts are 

 brownish black streaked with buff or chestnut ; Miss Haviland 

 noticed the protective value of the longitudinal buff streaks on 

 a male which she photographed on a nest. The dark colour- 

 ing is relieved by white superciliary stripe, cheek, and wing 

 bar. The bill is yellow, dark at the tip, the legs are greenish 

 yellow, yellow or orange on the toes, and the irides brown. In 

 autumn the chestnut is gradually lost ; it is not always easy to 

 say if a bird is mature in transition dress or young when 



