5l6 WATER-RAIL. 



Holland, it is local ; but over Belgium, France, and the rest of 

 Europe, it is widely distributed, and in the Caucasus it is found up 

 to a considerable elevation. Eastward it can be traced through 

 Turkestan as far as Gilgit and the Himalayas; but the Indian region, 

 China, Japan, and Southern Siberia are inhabited by the closely- 

 allied R. itidicus. In Africa our Water-Rail breeds in the marshes of 

 Morocco and Algeria, and visits Egypt, Abyssinia, and the vicinity 

 of Aden in winter ; but in South Africa it is represented by a 

 distinct species, R. cceru/escens. It has not yet reached the Azores, 

 but an example has been known to settle on a vessel in the Atlantic 

 when 240 miles from the nearest land, and there is a record of 

 more than double that distance. 



The nest, which is well concealed in a tussock of sedge, or some- 

 times among coarse herbage in a willow-bed, is made of flat leaves of 

 the reed and sedge; the eggs, 7-1 1 in number, are pale creamy- 

 white, sparsely flecked with reddish-brown and ash-grey : measure- 

 ments I '4 by I in. Two broods are no doubt produced in the season, 

 for Mr. A. H. Evans obtained eggs which were slightly incubated as 

 early as April 8th, while fresh clutches are frequently found in June 

 and July. The female, as a rule, slips off and sneaks away on the 

 approach of intruders, and even if the clump of sedge containing her 

 nest is surrounded and well beaten out, there is great difficulty in 

 forcing her to take wing; a solitary person, advancing stealthily, 

 can, however, approach sufficiently near for observation, and a dog 

 will often capture a sitting bird. During the breeding-season Water- 

 Rails are very noisy, uttering a loud cro-o-o-a7i, called "sharming" 

 in Norfolk. The food consists of aquatic plants, worms, slugs and 

 snails. 



The adult male has the bill red ; irides hazel ; feathers of the 

 crown, hind neck and upper surface olive-brown, with black streaks 

 down the centres ; quills dusky-brown ; cheeks, neck, and breast 

 lead-grey; flanks nearly black, barred with white; vent pale buff; 

 legs and feet brownish flesh-colour. Length 11 "5; wing 475. 

 The female is duller in colour, and frequently exhibits some distinct 

 white bars on the wing-coverts. The young bird has the under 

 parts of a dull buffish-white, speckled on the throat and barred on 

 the flanks with dark brown ; while the upper parts have a more 

 olive tint than in the adult. The nestling is covered with black 

 down. 



