WATER HEN, OR MOOR HEN. 2o5 



There is also a patch of bright scarlet on the base of 

 the yellow bill, the scarlet portion extending over the 

 forehead, and looking singularly beautiful as the bird 

 swims to and fro, nodding its head in its own peculiar 

 manner. If the weather be calm, the scarlet patch is 

 reflected in the water, and has a most curious effect, 

 seeming to rise from the depths as the bird bends its 

 head downwards, and then sink again as it raises its 

 head. A similar effect is produced by the white patch 

 on the beak of the common coot, as I have often seen 

 when watching the birds as they swam on the lake at 

 Walton Hall. Mr. Waterton never would allow a bird 

 to be molested, and, in consequence, even these birds, 

 which are generally wild and shy, allowed themselves 

 to be approached closely without showing the least 

 alarm. 



The Water Hen is quite as good at concealing itself 

 as is the dabchick, and is full of artifice. I once de- 

 tected one of these birds in a very ingenious ruse. I 

 was with a friend in a boat on the Isis, near Sandford, 

 when a Water Hen that was sitting on the bank took 

 alarm, and flew into the water with the usual impetuo- 

 sity of these birds. It dived as soon as it struck the 

 water, and made as though it were intending to cross 

 to the other side of the river. Not caring particularly 

 about the bird, I happened to be looking towards the 

 bank from which it had plunged. Presently the artful 

 bird came to the surface under the shadow of the weeds 

 that overhung the bank, and quietly stole off between 

 them and the bank itself. It had doubled when under 

 water, thinking that it had induced us to fancy that it 

 was crossing to the opposite side, and that we should 



