RALLULE. 213 



water, and will creep into holes or dive amidst the vegeta- 

 tion, the bill merely kept above water. In this position it 

 requires a very strict search to find it, allowing the stems 

 of grasses and brushwood to be put aside without moving; 

 and, when discovered, is seen squatted under water, im- 

 movable, and permitting itself to be lifted, making no 

 struggle for escape until secured/' The nest is usually 

 placed amongst reeds or roots of brush by the water's edge, 

 being supported by these; but one which we saw and 

 sketched was at the extreme end of a depending branch 

 of a tree growing by the side of a pond : the branch touched 

 the water, and the foundation of the nest was immersed in 

 it ; green leaves were laid over the top of the nest, and par- 

 tially covered it, doubtless, as it was in a somewhat exposed 

 situation, to conceal both it and the eggs from observation. 

 The nest is large, and rude in form, composed of reeds, 

 rushes, and other water plants ; and the eggs, from five 

 to ten in number, are of a pale-brown colour, blotched, 

 speckled, and spotted with dingy-red. The Moor-hen be- 

 gins to lay at the latter end of April, or in May, and three 

 broods are reared in the year. (PL XIII. fig. 85.) 



THE COMMON COOT. Fulica atra. The Coot is spread 

 over temperate Europe, and is especially abundant in Hoi- 



