120 RALLID.E. 



two young Moor-hens, which were hatched under a Hen, 

 used to take their food from the bill of their foster-mother ; 

 and it was not till they were several weeks old that they 

 would pick their food from the ground. We have, not- 

 withstanding, observed this bird in its natural state, when 

 it had only been hatched a few days, running about upon 

 the tops of the weeds and picking insects from them. 

 Pennant says Moor-hens might possibly be domesticated, 

 for a pair in his grounds never failed appearing when he 

 called his ducks to feed, and partook before him of the corn. 

 Among the many aquatic birds with which the Ornitho- 

 logical Society have stocked the canal and the islands in 

 St. James's Park, are several Moor-hens : in the course 

 of the present summer, 1841, two broods have been pro- 

 duced, the young of which are so tame, that they leave 

 the water and come up close to your feet on the path to 

 receive crumbs of bread, I may also remark that in this 

 instance, as in that referred to by Mr. Boultbee, the young 

 of the second brood were brought up by the young of the 

 first brood. In winter, during hard frost, when ponds are 

 frozen over, Moor-hens resort to running streams, and 

 harbour in plantations, hedgerows, and thick bushes; 

 roosting in firs, thorn-trees, and others that are covered 

 with ivy, feeding probably on the berries. Mr. Jesse 

 mentions that, during the frost of the winter of 1832, a 

 pair of Water-hens kept almost entirely in a large arbutus 

 tree, on the lawn of a house belonging to a lady at Hamp- 

 ton Wick, which was enclosed by a high paling, and no 

 pond was near it. Here they probably fed on the berries 

 of the tree, and other produce of the garden. The tree, 

 however, was always their place of refuge if they happened 

 to be disturbed when feeding in the garden. 



When the ice disappears, Moor-hens return to the 



