THE WATERHENS. 177 



people with our own esteem for ugly utilities, and the 

 rusty water-tap is dispossessing the picturesque tank ; 

 but there are many left yet in the suburbs of Bombay, 

 though the villages which they once vitalised may 

 have disappeared. And there is one left in our very 

 midst, the Gowalia tank. In such places, if you look 

 for it, you may perhaps see the Jacana gingerly tread- 

 ing the floating leaves. There are two species, the 

 Bronze-winged (Parra indica) and the Pheasant- 

 tailed (Hydrophasiamts chirurgus}. The latter is 

 a bird never to be forgotten if seen in its wed- 

 ding dress. Its head, face and throat are then 

 white, the back of its neck golden yellow, its body 

 mostly dark chestnut brown, and its wings black 

 and white. Its tail is black and shaped like the tail 

 of a domestic cock or a pheasant, the middle feathers 

 being ten inches long. In the cold season it drops 

 this ornament and assumes a plainer plumage, brown 

 above and white beneath. A black line from the 

 corner of the mouth runs down each side of the neck 

 and forms a broad gorget on the breast. The nest of 

 the Jacana is a floating heap of weeds among the 

 rushes and lilies that it loves. The eggs are always 

 four, those of the Bronze-winged being buff, or olive, 

 crossed all over with a maze of black lines, while 

 those of the Pheasant-tailed are of a uniform, glossy, 

 bronze-brown colour. 



The Purple Coot and Water Cock, though familiar 

 enough to sportsmen everywhere, can scarcely claim 

 a place here. 



2 3 



