88 Forest Birds. 
legs, moving its wings up and down exactly as in 
flight, but with a slower motion, on account of the 
resistance of water being greater than that of air. 
The feet are very large and the toes long for the 
size of the bird, giving it an awkward appearance. 
The usefulness of these overgrown members, how- 
ever, is soon apparent when we watch the bird 
gliding over reeds and rushes, and threading its way 
in and out through a labyrinth of flags. The bird 
walks with perfect ease over huge networks of reeds, 
which have laced themselves together after the 
growth of years, its large feet preventing it from 
slipping through the ‘‘ meshes.” 
Although the Waterhen is an inhabitant of reed 
and rush-grown ponds, streams and marshy spots, 
it is nevertheless often called the Moorhen, and it 
no doubt received this name from the fact that the 
word “moor” once signified a marsh; but as now 
by “moor” we understand heathy and more or less 
dry land, the Waterhen seems to be a more appro- 
priate name. Moreover, the red grouse is sometimes 
called the moorcock or moorfowl, and may therefore 
be confused with Moorhen. 
It is very generally distributed over the British 
Isles, and the same birds usually remain summer 
and winter on the water they frequent; but if frost 
drives them from their native place, they migrate 
