y RALLIDAE 245 
Ralline birds are under ordinary circumstances non-gregarious, 
and inhabit tangled marshes or damp localities near rivers and 
lakes; but many, and especially the flightless forms, have a predilec- 
tion for dry plains, as for instance Pennula of Hawaii, Ocydromus 
of New Zealand, Cabalus of the Chatham Islands, Habroptila of 
Halmahera, Zricholimnas of New Caledonia, and Pareudiastes of 
Samoa. Crex pratensis of the Palaearctic Region also haunts dry 
lands. Fulica gigantea occurs only on the lakes in the Andes of 
Chili, Bolivia, and Peru. Some species are partly crepuscular, 
and in Britain the Spotted Crake is certainly little heard except 
towardsevening. Rails walk easily with bobbing head and jerking 
tail, while they prefer running to flying, as the flight is laboured and 
requires continuous action of the wings. As may be readily seen 
in the case of Coots and Moor-Hens, some difficulty is experienced 
in rising from water, the feet trailing along the surface for several 
yards; but, when once fairly launched in the air, the legs, which 
at first hang down, are drawn up below the tail, and a steady 
pace is maintained for considerable distances. Most species 
swim and dive with facility, and will even remain with only the 
bill above water; perching and climbing, too, are common habits. 
Generally speaking, the members of this Family are silent birds, 
though they may be constantly heard calling towards dusk; the 
more or less melancholy notes are less varied than in many other 
groups, but may be harsh and sonorous, or loud and clear. The 
groaning noise uttered by the breeding Water-Rail, the somewhat 
frog-like sound made by the Moor-Hen, the continuous craking of 
the Corn-Crake, the “cackling” of the Clapper-Rail, the shrill 
whistle of the Wekas, the rasping ery of Ocydromus sylvestris, the 
deep trumpeting of the Purple Gallinule, and the clearer call of the 
Coot are some of the most notable exceptions. The food consists of 
worms, molluscs, insects and their larvae, green herbage, tubers, 
roots of aquatic plants and seeds; Porphyrio and Tribonyx cause 
serious damage to potato-, rice-, and corn-crops: while the former 
bird is said to have a curious habit of holding the larger edibles 
in its claws and nibbling them like a Parrot. Some of the stronger 
species occasionally prey on mice, lizards, young birds, and eggs. 
The nest may be a large mass of aquatic plants or dry flags, as in 
the Coots, or a similar but smaller structure, as in the Gallinules ; 
the former being commonly founded under water, though raised 
above it, whereas the latter is generally near the bank or— 
