RALLIDAE 245 



Ralline birds are under ordinary circumstances non-gregarious, 

 and inhabit tangled marshes or damp localities near rivers and 

 lakes; but many, and especially the flightless forms, have a predilec- 

 tion for dry plains, as for instance Pennula of Hawaii, Ocydromus 

 of New Zealand, Cabalus of the Chatham Islands, Hdbroptila of 

 Halmahera, TricJiolimnas of New Caledonia, and Pareudiastes of 

 Samoa. Crex pratensis of the Palaearctic Region also haunts dry 

 lands. Fulica gigantea occurs only on the lakes in the Andes of 

 Chili, Bolivia, and Peru. Some species are partly crepuscular, 

 and in Britain the Spotted Crake is certainly little heard except 

 towards evening. Rails walk easily with bobbing head and jerking 

 tail, while they prefer running to flying, as the flight is laboured and 

 requires continuous action of the wings. As may be readily seen 

 in the case of Coots and Moor-Hens, some difficulty is experienced 

 in rising from water, the feet trailing along the surface for several 

 yards ; but, when once fairly launched in the air, the legs, which 

 at first hang down, are drawn up below the tail, and a steady 

 pace is maintained for considerable distances. Most species 

 swim and dive with facility, and will even remain with only the 

 bill above water ; perching and climbing, too, are common habits. 

 Generally speaking, the members of this Family are silent birds, 

 though they may be constantly heard calling towards dusk ; the 

 more or less melancholy notes are less varied than in many other 

 groups, but may be harsh and sonorous, or loud and clear. The 

 groaning noise uttered by the breeding Water-Rail, the somewhat 

 frog-like sound made by the Moor-Hen, the continuous craking of 

 the Corn-Crake, the " cackling " of the Clapper-Rail, the shrill 

 whistle of the "Wekas, the rasping cry of Ocydromus sylvestris, the 

 deep trumpeting of the Purple Gallinule, and the clearer call of the 

 Coot are some of the most notable exceptions. The food consists of 

 worms, molluscs, insects and their larvae, green herbage, tubers, 

 roots of aquatic plants and seeds ; Porphyrio and Trilonyx cause 

 serious damage to potato-, rice-, and corn-crops : while the former 

 bird is said to have a curious habit of holding the larger edibles 

 in its claws and nibbling them like a Parrot. Some of the stronger 

 species occasionally prey on mice, lizards, young birds, and eggs. 

 The nest may be a large mass of aquatic plants or dry flags, as in 

 the Coots, or a similar but smaller structure, as in the Gallinules ; 

 the former being commonly founded under water, though raised 

 above it, whereas the latter is generally near the bank or - 



