THE RAIL FAMILY 153 



Gardeners do not approve of them, but they look 

 very pretty on a lawn close to the water, where they 

 are encouraged to come in the winter ; if fed they 

 will keep about the place. As ducks visit open 

 rivers where shallows are numerous and the banks 

 well wooded, the Moorhens form a lead up to the 

 food at night, and they are also company, for want 

 of better. At any rate, the ducks frequent places 

 where the Moorhens are, and some very decent 

 shooting is to be had at times. Decent, that is to 

 say, for inland rivers, as they are the heavy home- 

 bred birds, that is, birds bred in this country ; they 

 are worth shooting by those who have the right to 

 shoot there. At times you would think that they 

 had deserted certain places, but they are sure to be 

 in the tangle somewhere. When heavy rains have 

 fallen, suddenly flooding the river-bank high, and in 

 some places over the banks, you will see them 

 bobbing in and out like a lot of farm-yard pullets, 

 by the hedges, where they have gone for food and 

 shelter. 



This bird has increased of late years to a very 

 great degree, and this may be fairly ascribed to the 

 gun tax and the Bird Act, and also to the more 

 restrictive measures connected with notice-boards, 

 which now affect people's movements in certain 

 directions. But even if these had never existed, 

 the bird would have been seen and heard as usual, 

 for, like the sparrow, he is hardy, and hard to move. 



The Bald Coot makes its nest of reeds, flags, 

 mares'-tails, and bits of willows. It is a clumsy 



