340 RURAL BIRD LIFE. 



pall, and the snow lies deeply over his wonted feeding 

 grounds, the Moorhen is ofttimes pressed for food. At 

 these times you often see him sitting in the hawthorn 

 trees, consuming the haws, or preying upon the hips of 

 the wild rose on the neighbouring hedgerows. Where 

 the haunt of the Moorhens is in wild and unsheltered 

 places, they will often seek shelter amongst the tangled 

 undergrowth of the neighbouring woods ; and if ever- 

 greens are near at hand, nothing suits them better than 

 to wander under the low drooping branches, or, if need 

 be, seek their shelter at nightfall for repose. 



Moorhens change their locality under the cover of 

 darkness, and their peculiar cry is often heard, now clear 

 and loud, and anon faint and weird, from the inky sky 

 of night. I have known this bird keep the air for hours, 

 coursing hither and thither through the darkness, doubt- 

 less seeking a suitable resting-place ; for otherwise, the 

 Moorhen is not what we can call a nocturnal bird. 



The Coot is a much larger bird than the Moorhen : 

 its feet are different, its plumage is much darker, and 

 the forehead is bare of feathers and of a delicate pinky- 

 white ; hence the name of Bald Coot, a title by which it 

 is commonly known in those districts where the birds 

 abound. A glance at the Coot, and you are at once 

 aware that his home is on the waters. He frequents 

 the quiet lakes and ponds of the interior, and the vast 

 sheets of water in the low-lying counties ; so^ too, he is 

 often seen in winter time enlivening the ocean with his 

 active motions, and blackening the mud flats with his 

 numbers when he repairs at eventide to rest. But 

 though his true home is the water, still he is active 

 enough on the land, walking about quite as gracefully 

 as the Moorhen ; and, what is stranger still, when we look 

 at his seemingly awkward feet, he often perches in the 



