MOOR-HEN,—WATER-HEN, 419 
from a nest built on the projecting branches. The fol- 
lowing anecdote also proves that even adult birds, if 
wounded or otherwise unable to escape, fall victims to the 
heron’s carnivorous appetite. Mr. T. H. Edwards, when 
shooting by the river at Keswick, near Norwich, on the 
7th of December, 1869, mortally wounded a water-hen, 
which fell close to a heron that was standing by a drain 
in an adjoining meadow. The heron instantly rushed 
at the water-hen, and first striking it with its beak, 
seized and carried it off to another field, where it was 
seen to place its feet on the bird and endeavour to tear 
it to pieces with its bill. In order to scare it from its 
prey, Mr. Edwards approached as near as he could and 
fired off his gun, when the heron again seized the car- 
case, and this time flew off with it to a considerable 
distance, so that further observation was impossible. 
In the act of flying with the water-hen in its bill, 
the heron had a most unnatural appearance, the neck 
seemed too weak to support such a weight, and was 
consequently directed forwards, and downwards, instead 
of being thrown back as usual between the shoulders. 
The weather up to that time had been mild and open, 
so that extreme hunger could scarcely account for this 
unusual proceeding. 
Unlike the coots and grebes, water-hens on the broads 
are but rarely seen upon the open waters, preferring the 
close vicinity of the shore, or the narrow channels 
between the reed-beds, with safe harbour on either side. 
If surprised on the sedgy ronds bordering the reed- 
stems a scuttling movement of both wings and feet 
brings them at once into covert, whilst those still 
further from the shore rise on the wing, and flapping 
hurriedly over the water leave a trail on the surface 
with their dipping feet. There are times, however, 
when the water-hen, mounting well up, takes a pro- 
longed flight to some other portion of the river or 
3H 2 
