158 BIRD WATCHING 



at a time, without having once seen them do so ; so 

 that from seeing them thus au naturel, and without 

 any suspicion of my proximity, I might have come 

 to the conclusion that they were not diving birds at 

 all. As it is, I am inclined to think that they rarely 

 dive except to avoid danger, and only then when 

 surprised and as a last resource. For instance, if 

 a moor-hen sees one from the smallest distance it 

 flies to the nearest belt of reeds, but if one appears 

 quite suddenly on the bank just above it — as some- 

 times happens — it will then often dive. Even here, 

 however, according to my own experience, it is more 

 likely to trust to its wings ; so that, as it seems to 

 me, the habit under any circumstances is only an 

 occasional one, and may, therefore, be in process 

 either of formation or cessation. If we look at the 

 moor-hen's foot, which shows no special adaptation to 

 swimming, but a very marked one for walking over 

 a network of water-herbage, the former of these two 

 suppositions seems the more probable. The bird 

 from a shore and weed-walker has become aquatic, 

 and is probably becoming more so. If the habit of 

 diving is only becoming established, it is possible that 

 some localities might be more conducive to its quick 

 increase than others, and it would be interesting, 

 I think, if observers in different parts of the 

 country would make and record observations on 

 this point. 



The chariness of the moor-hen in diving is the more 

 interesting because the coot, which belongs to the 

 same family, has the same general habits, and has 

 evidently become aquatic by the same gradual process, 

 dives frequently, and is accustomed to feed upon weeds 



