286 GRALL^E. RALLID.E. 



she followed them under water.* And Mr. Jesse, 

 having disturbed a Moor-hen that had just hatched, 

 tells us that " her anxiety and manoeuvres to draw 

 away her young were singularly interesting. She 

 would go a short distance, utter a cry, return, and 

 seemed to point out the way for her brood to 

 follow, Having driven her away," he continues, 

 " that I might have a better opportunity of watch- 

 ing her young ones, she never ceased calling to 

 them, and at length they made towards her, skulk- 

 ing amongst the rushes, till they got to the other 

 side of the pond. They had only just left the 

 shell, and had probably never heard the cry of 

 their mother before."f 



The young have the legs and feet of their full 

 size and development, while the feathers of the 

 wings are only beginning to protrude; thus 

 proving how subordinate the organs of flight in 

 this genus are to those of walking and swimming. 



Contrary to what is usual among birds, the 

 female Gallinule is more richly adorned than the 

 male ; the plumage being of a deeper colour, and 

 the frontal shield being larger, and of a brilliant 

 scarlet, like sealing-wax, while that of the other 

 sex is of a dull brown. 



* Habits of Birds, p. 216. f Gleanings, p. 53. 



