THE RAIL FAMILY 149 



so often known birds act quite differently in many 

 ways from their usual habits, that I can see no 

 reason why the Land-rail should not indulge in 

 some such vagaries. 



The nest of the Moorhen is a bulky affair, com- 

 posed of reed-blades, grasses, and fragments of 

 sedges and other water-plants. The eggs, varying 

 in number from eight to ten, are brownish-grey or 

 greyish-yellow in ground-colour, with scattered spots 

 of deep brown, from the size of a small pea down 

 to mere sprinklings. 



Green-footed Gallinule would no doubt be the 

 proper name for this bird, but Moorhen is the local 

 name for it, and it is a very good one. Moors, as 

 we all know, are generally associated in people's 

 minds with heather and ferns, but there are two 

 kinds of moors, the wet and the dry. It is in or 

 about the wet moors that you may occasionally see 

 a Moorhen, though not very often, for it draws as 

 near cultivation as man will let it. It is a trouble- 

 some neighbour, as it does a lot of harm in the 

 gardens, pecking out the hearts of the young garden 

 stuff, so that it becomes a perfect nuisance some- 

 times. But as the Moorhens run like rats through 

 the tangle of the moor hedges that enclose the 

 gardens, they are apt to find themselves obliged 

 to stay on the wrong side, and never get back. 

 Being good to eat, their bodies compensate a little 

 for the mischief they do, but a couple of Moorhens 

 will hardly make up for the value of a bed of young 

 cabbages pulled to pieces. 



