THE WATERHEN 309 



have a very anxious time of it, for the Heron is on the 

 look-out for them, and he does a lot of wading in the 

 reeds and the swamps all the time the young Moorhens 

 are about. They would be far more numerous were 

 they not hunted for, so persistently, by furred, finned, 

 and feathered prowlers. 



The Pike is one of their worst enemies, and the 

 youngsters are kept often in about three inches of water 

 to escape his murderous bite. 



"The Moorhen can both swim and dive, and he flies 

 well when fairly on the wing; but as his real flights take 

 place, as a rule, at night, very little is known about them. 

 I once saw a flight at daybreak that very much aston- 

 ished me. The bird shifts considerably about at ni^nt 

 at times. When alarmed it is occasionally very clever 

 in concealing itself, and it will sham death to perfection, 

 even when caught alive by a good dog, without a 

 feather being injured." 



The Waterhen is rather larger than the Partridge ; ft 

 has longer legs, of a green colour, and much longer toes. 

 It has a small growth on the wings like a spur. On the 

 brow is a bare crescent-shaped red patch, the pupil of 

 the eye is carmine ; neck and the whole of the mantle 

 dark, greenish-olive brown ; the other parts of the body 

 slate colour, the inside of the lower tail-cover being of 

 a darker shade, with a broad yellowish white border. 

 The feathers on the edge of the wings are tipped with 

 white, forming a beautiful white line, to the front of the 

 wings. The bill is green, red at the base. The nest is 

 nearly always placed in dry sedge-bushes on the edge of 

 the water; the dry grass serves for litter. The clutch 

 consists of ten eggs, which have a pale yellowish red 

 ground speckled with violet and reddish-brown. 



