THE RAIL FAMILY 135 



when necessity compelled him to do so ; but reed- 

 beds, sedges, and swamps are his abiding-places, 

 and if his legs and feet can save him, the Water- 

 rail will not use his wings unless forced to do so. 



He is far more numerous in certain localities than 

 most people imagine, and he is heard more often 

 than he is seen. Very: few would give him credit 

 for the noises he sometimes makes, unless they had 

 proved for themselves beyond any shadow of doubt 

 that such sounds actually proceeded from him. He 

 has claimed my attention considerably when near 

 his haunts, as just before pairing-time he will, for 

 some reason, show himself on the edge of the 

 swamps quite openly, considering his confirmed 

 habit of hiding himself at other times. All the 

 rest of the year, if I have wished to see him, I 

 have been forced to literally get into the swamps 

 and wade very, very cautiously in evil-smelling 

 water coming above the knees. As you move in 

 these swamps you stir the bottom up ; and even the 

 mud and the evil smell are not the worst part of it, 

 for the horrible midges that infest the place are 

 maddening in the tortures they inflict. The edges 

 also of what are locally called " sword-blades " will 

 cut like a knife if you incautiously catch hold of 

 them. These " sword-blades" are long, green 

 sedges, exactly the shape of a small sword-blade, 

 and about the same length. 



But, under some circumstances, the haunts of 

 the Water-rail appear very beautiful. The sun is 

 going down behind great masses of clouds edged 



