THE MOORHEN. 99 



weighs a pound. The colour of the bird is dark 

 olive-green, and blue-gray on the lower part, with 

 white under the tail and the edges of the wings. 

 There is a white spot under the eye. The feathers 

 hang loosely over the thighs ; these are black and 

 white. The bill is thick and arched at the tip, 

 it is greenish and red at the point ; it is only 

 about an inch long. The colour of the upper 

 part of the bill, which forms a kind of plate on the 

 forehead, is bright red during the breeding season, 

 but afterwards becomes pale. The iris is red. The 

 feet are not webbed, but the toes are bordered with 

 membranes. The feet are green or yellowish, the 

 toes are very long. It frequents fresh water, especially 

 slow-running streams and deep ditches which are 

 bordered with rushes and sedges. It is partial to the 

 neighbourhood of man's dwellings, and comes out to 

 feed chiefly at night or late in the evening. It feeds 

 on small fishes and other inhabitants of the stream or 

 pond. It lays its eggs so near the water that they 

 are liable to be washed away ; and the young birds, 

 according to Mudie, have an enemy in the heron, 

 which will swim after them, although this habit is not 

 usual with the species. It is even said that in water 

 where pike or trout are found these fish, as a compensa- 

 tion perhaps for the many small fry devoured by the 

 water-hen, will devour the young birds from the water 

 brink. They are soon able to swim; the mother takes 

 them out early, and brings them back to the nest 

 during the middle of the day, and when evening 

 comes on. There is often more than one brood in 

 the year. The eggs are seven to eleven each time, 

 H 2 



