378 



GRALL^E. RALLID^. 



neither flew nor ran. I never saw a bird, fer& 

 natures, so tame. 



I afterwards found that this vast morass abounded 

 with them, and that their presence in the high 

 road was a thing of daily occurrence ; and though 

 I never saw them quite so fearless as the one I 

 have mentioned, still they were very bold, walk- 

 ing out from the rushes and strolling across the 

 road in the sight of passengers. 



The aspect of the living bird is not that of 

 a Gallinule ; it stands high on the legs, which 

 are placed more forward : its air is much like 

 that of a fowl, but its contour is much slen- 

 derer. As it walks, the neck is bridled up, and 

 thrown forward alternately, and the short black 

 and white tail, which is semi-erect, is, at every step, 

 flirted up with a jerk into a perpendicular posi- 

 tion. 



I was struck with the remarkable elegance of 

 one, that I saw by the roadside, about mid-way 

 between Savanna le Mar and Bluefields. It was 

 at one of those pieces of dark water called Blue- 

 holes, reputed to be unfathomable. The surface 

 was covered with the leaves and tangled stems 

 of various water-plants, and on these the Sultana 

 was walking, supported by its breadth of foot ; 

 so that the leaves on which it trod sank only 

 an inch or two, notwithstanding that the bird, ac- 

 cording to its usual manner, moved with great 

 deliberation, frequently standing still, and look- 

 ing leisurely on either side. As it walked over 

 to where the water was less encumbered, it be- 



