CLASS II. AVES: ORDER V. GRALLATORES. 



267 



ground or among tlio rank herbage, seeking for worms and insects. A fevv are found in dry situ- 

 ations, but their food is much of the same nature as that of their marsh-loving bretliren, and very 

 few appear to take any considerable portion of vegetable nourishment. Nearly all are valued for 

 the table, and some are among the most delicious of viands. The following are included in this 

 extensive and important order : the Rails, Jacanas, Snipes, Phalaropes, Sandpipers, Curleivs, 

 Ruffs, Tatlers, Stilts, Avocets, Spoon-Bills, Ibises, Storks, Cranes, Herons, Bitterns, Boat-Bills, 

 Plovers, Oyster-Catchers, Pratincoles, Thick-Knees, Bustards, Trumpeters, &c. 



THE KALLID^ OR RAILS. 



In these the bill is short; the legs stout; the wings of moderate size, and in some genera armed 



^^ J with spines at the carpal joint. 



They feed principally upon 

 worms, mollusca, and insects ; 

 but many also eat a good deal 

 of vegetable food, such as 

 blades of grass and seeds. 

 Some of them are solitary, 

 others more or less gregari- 

 ous in their habits. They 

 build a large nest of dried 

 grasses and sedges, placing it 

 upon the ground among thick 

 herbage ; the eggs vary con- 

 siderably in number, and the 

 young are able to run, and 

 frequently to swim, as soon as 

 they are hatched. 



Genus GALLINULA : Gallinula. — This embraces the European Moor-Hen or Water-Hen, 

 Poule d'eau of the French, G. chloropus, thirteen inches long; upper parts olive-brown; be- 

 I neath uniform slate-gray. It lives among the reeds and sedges along the banks of rivers and 



lakes, feeding on insects, worms, 

 mollusca, and seeds. It is often 

 seen on rivers, ponds, and lakes, 

 swimming with a nodding mo- 

 tion of the head. When dis- 

 turbed they will take a short 

 flight, but prefer a retreat to 

 the rushes and sedges. They 

 sometimes perch on trees over- 

 hanging the water. This spe- 

 cies is partially domesticated in 

 some parts of England, and sev- 

 eral broods have been hatched 

 in the canal of St. James' Park, 

 London. It is widely distrib- 

 uted over Europe, Asia, and Af- 

 rica. It is sedentary in Eng- 

 land. 



There are several species in 



the United States. The Purple 



Gallinule, G. Martinica, is 



It passes the summer in Florida, 



Georgia and Louisiana, retiring further south with its brood in autumn. It is a vigorous, active 



THE MOOR-HEN. 



THE COMMON EUROPEAN COOT. 



jfourteen inches long ; general color a rich violet-purple 



