124 THE WATER-HEN. 



and habits, that they merit notice: the following 

 anecdote proves that they are gifted with a sense 

 of observation approaching to something very like 

 reasoning faculties. At a gentleman's house, in 

 Staffordshire, the Pheasants are fed out of one of 

 those boxes described in page 98, the lid of which 

 rises with the pressure of the Pheasant standing on 

 the rail in front of the box. A Water-Hen, observ- 

 ing this, went and stood upon the rail as soon as the 

 Pheasant had quitted it; but the weight of the bird 

 being insufficient to raise the lid of the box, so as to 

 enable it to get at the corn, the "Water-Hen kept 

 jumping on the rail, to give additional impetus to 

 its weight; this partially succeeded, but not to the 

 satisfaction of the sagacious bird. Accordingly, it 

 went off, and soon returning with another bird of 

 its own species, the united weight of the two had 

 the desired effect, and the successful pair enjoyed 

 the benefit of their ingenuity. We can vouch for 

 the truth of this singular instance of penetration, 

 on the authority of the owner of the place where it 

 occurred, and who witnessed the fact. 



Nearly allied to the Water-Hen, is the well- 

 known family of Coots; they, too, build a simple 

 rushy nest, but with this difference, that instead of 

 seeking to raise it above the water, they seem to 

 prefer its floating upon the very surface; where, of 

 course, it is exposed to the double danger of being 

 carried hither and thither, according as the wind 

 blows; or, if interwoven with reeds or bushes close 

 to the water, of being covered, should the waters 

 be raised by floods. But the Coot is apparently 

 well aware of these possibilities, and accordingly 



