WATER-HAIL. 409 



ber, as shown by their being very plentiful in our mar- 

 kets or in the hands of our birdstuffers at times during 

 that month ; and on the 27th of January, 1867, during 

 severe weather, a bird of this kind, probably attracted 

 by a light, flew into the open door of a house at Caister, 

 near Yarmouth, and was captured. In the spring of 

 1863 I was shown by the lighthouse keeper, at Hun- 

 stanton, a, water-rail, which had been found dead at the 

 foot of the building during the previous winter; nor 

 was this the only instance of the kind he had met 

 with in this species. At Beeston, near Cromer, imme- 

 diately on the coast, Mr. T. W. Cremer informs me 

 they are not uncommon during the winter months ; and 

 in January, 1868, during frost and snow, Mr. F. Norgate 

 found several at Sparham, near Norwich, dropped about 

 in the smaller drains, where he scarcely expected to 

 find a water-hen. In spite of the migratory nature, 

 however, of this bird, some few, as before stated, remain 

 with us throughout the year, and brave the sharpest 

 winters. I have shot them both on the broads and by 

 the sides of our rivers and smaller streams, when the 

 ground has been covered with a deep snow, and the 

 channel completely frozen over. Why these stragglers 

 should remain to incur the dangers and privations of 

 such " hard times " is quite inexplicable ; but when 

 concealment is impossible amongst the sedges, beaten 

 down by the frost and choked with snow,* and escape 



* St. John ("Natural History and Sport in Moray"), under 

 date of December 3rd, 1847, states that a water-rail flushed by him 

 from a ditch when snow was on the ground, alighted again in an 

 adjoining field, and immediately endeavoured to make its way back 

 to the water from whence it had flown. A large gull perceiving 

 the bird struggling through the snow pounced down upon it, 

 but the rail flung itself on its back and fought with bill and claws, 

 even jumping up at and pulling feathers out of its formidable 

 antagonist. This was repeated again and again, as often as the 

 gull tried to seize upon it. But at last the gull was driven off 

 by St. John, and the plucky little rail reached its haunt in safety. 

 3 G 



