The Bird Book 



in itself and a book might easily be devoted 

 to it ; but apart from the common Wild Duck 

 and the Teal the smallest of British Ducks no 

 species is distributed very generally over Great 

 Britain. The Garganey and Pochard may be found 

 in Norfolk ; the Eider and the Wigeon in the 

 North of Scotland ; so it seems best in a book of 

 this kind to leave to the reader the task of gaining 

 information from text books about the particular 

 species of Duck in which he is interested. 



In the sedgy retreats of the fen country the Water 

 Rail is most at home, though it is said to nest in 

 nearly every county in England, Scotland and Ire- 

 land. Like most of the marsh birds it is shy and 

 skulking, and prefers to use its legs rather than its 

 wings, twisting and turning through the densest 

 undergrowth a task for which its slender, com- 

 pressed body is peculiarly well adapted. Conse- 

 quently it is seldom indeed that you get a chance 

 of observing it, for the bird does not advertise its 

 presence like the Corncrake, nor does it appear in 

 the open 'as much as the Moorhen, to which birds 

 it is closely related. Its bill is longer and more 

 slender than the Crake's and it has not the shield 

 of the Waterhen. The general colouring above 

 is olive or reddish brown, each feather having a 

 black longitudinal centre ; beneath it is leaden 

 grey, which gives place on the sides and flanks to 

 a deep, slaty grey, barred with white. 



The nest and six or seven eggs are similar to 



8 4 



