116 RALLID^E. 



more extended exertion on the wing, but appear to prefer 

 the security afforded by thick rushes. 



Shenstone refers to the hidling habits of the Coot and 

 Moor-hen in the following lines : 



" to lurk the lake beside 



Where Coots in rushy dingles hide, 

 And Moorcocks shun the day." 



The nest is generally placed among reeds on the ground ; 

 sometimes among stumps, roots, or long grass, on a bank at 

 the edge of the water ; and the bird has been known to 

 fix its nest on a branch of a tree which rested upon the 

 surface of deep still water. The editor of the Naturalist 

 mentions an instance where, " the nest of a Moor-hen 

 floated on the water without having any attachment what- 

 ever with the islet which it adjoined ; but was enclosed on 

 all sides by sticks, Sec. Thus situated, the careful parents 

 hatched their eggs in perfect safety ; though, had the 

 water risen to an unusual height, the case might have been 

 otherwise. 



Rusticus of Godalming, in the fifth volume of the Maga- 

 zine of Natural History, says, " The piece of water called 

 Old Pond, about one mile from Godalming, on the London 

 road, is a most attractive spot to waterfowl ; and an 

 island in its centre is the resort of some of them in the 

 breeding-season, and also a variety of other birds, which 

 find it a safe and unmolested place for the same purpose. 

 I have often delighted, in years that are gone, to visit this 

 island and its inmates : the owner, Robert Moline, Esq. used 

 to allow us free ingress to all and every part of the estate ; 

 a liberty any one with an incipient thirst for a knowledge of 

 natural history would be sure to avail himself of. One 

 day, having pushed off from the shore, and moored the 

 little shallop to some of the osiers which surrounded the 



