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 labyrin-th 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 



