325 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Water Birds. Waders. Pressirostral ; Narrow-beaked. Water- 

 hens; Anecdotes of; Nests of. Coots; Nests of. Jacanas; 

 Singular Foot of. Horned Screamers. Rails. Oyster Catchers ; 

 Tamed. Cultrirostra ; Cutting-billed. Herons; Toothed- 

 claw of; Voracity of. Storks and Cranes; Migrations of; 

 Respect paid to. Gigantic Crane; Particulars respecting. 

 Jabiru. Anastomus ; Open-beaked. Tantalus. 



TABLE XXII. (See p. 19.) 



ORDER 5. WADERS. TRIBE 1. PRESSIROSTRES, 

 (Narrow-beaked. ) 



WE now come to a different class of birds from those 

 of which we have been hitherto treating, though still 

 with a connecting link between them, so fine as scarcely 

 to mark the point where the one begins, or the other 

 ends ; a numerous and widely-extended race, living and 

 seeking their food more or less amongst the waters. 

 Some are fitted for swimming, others are not: to 

 make up for this deficiency, the latter are furnished with 

 long legs for wading, or long bills for penetrating the 

 mud, usually, though not always, with both. 



The first of these to which we would allude is the 

 Water-Hen (Gallinula cldoropus). That pretty, smart, 

 active bird, which we may almost at any time see, if we 

 peep cautiously and silently through the bushes of an 

 old marsh-pit in a meadow, or a pond half choked up 

 with rushes, or well paved, if we may so express ourselves, 

 with the broad floating leaves of the water-lily, or persi- 

 caria (Polygonum amphibium). In the middle of any 

 such little open space she may be usually detected swim- 

 ming about with a joyous sort of jerking motion, but 

 on the least rustle exciting a suspicion that an enemy is 



