THE WATERHEN 257 



holes for shelter. The old birds, too, often do this in winter 

 if closely pressed, and are often caught by dogs in this way. 

 Should there be no rat-holes by the narrow dike-way, the 

 chased bird will suddenly disappear, and on searching the 

 spot where you last saw him, you may see a few bubbles rise 

 at short intervals ; and if you keep as quiet as a mouse, you 

 will see the artful creature lift his head above the water 

 and look round as innocently as if he had expected to see 

 nothing. Should he see you standing there, he will quickly 

 disappear again below the placid water, and fly under water 

 indeed, in a clear dike, you may see him working his 

 wings like paddles. When he thinks he has passed you, he 

 will come up close in against the shore, just raising his head 

 above the water, as he did previously, and looking carefully 

 round him. If he thinks you are at a safe distance, he will 

 stealthily glide out into the herbage on the shore and dis- 

 appear. You see they have to be artful, for their parents 

 leave them when they are half-grown, and they have many 

 enemies. Even cats like young waterhens. I remember an 

 old keeper, who lived amongst the stuff, told me he kept an 

 old cat who for days kept watching a waterhen and her 

 brood, till at last one day the curious waterhen and her chicks 

 came out of the stuff and walked straight towards pussy, who 

 made a light leap and captured a youngster, eating it. This 

 happened day after day, till pussy devoured mother and all 

 at least so said the keeper. 



Directly the old birds leave the first brood they com- 

 mence building again, and hatch off a second family, and 

 when that comes to pass their customs vary. Some fami- 

 lies are happy, and the first brood of youngsters will come 

 and help bring up their younger brothers and sisters 

 the two families and the parents may be seen swim- 

 ming together but in other cases the parents will none 

 of the first brood. I remember one summer watching an 

 old couple chase their fully -grown first-born across a 

 broad whenever they swam out of the stuff they kept 



