296 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
During the summer they occasionally visit the shores of the Medi- 
terranean, but they are seldom seen on those of the Atlantic. By 
sportsmen they are little valued. 
MACRODACTYLES, 
The Birds forming the family of JZacrodactyles (long-toed) are 
remarkable for the extreme length of their toes, which are entirely 
separate, or but slightly webbed ; they are thus enabled to walk on 
Fig r11.—Water-Hen. 
the weeds growing on the surface of the water. In most instances 
the shortness of their wings limits their powers of flight. 
This order includes the Gallinules, Rails, Coots, Pratincoles, 
and Screamers. 
The chief characteristics of the Water Hen (Gal//inula chloropus, 
Fig. 111) are a short and strong Dill, thick at the base and sharp at 
the end, with a prolongation of it extending up the forehead ; four 
well-spread toes, furnished with sharp claws—the three front toes 
united by a small and cloven membrane. ‘They are plentiful in 
some parts of France and England, their favourite haunts being 
_marshy places and the banks of lakes or rivers, where they feed on 
worms, insects, molluscs, and the smaller fish. They are lively, 
