588 THE WATER HEN. 



reedy refuge, it sinks nearer the surface of the water, so that at the last yard or two of 

 its i^rogress it drives the water before it, and seems equally to run or to fly. 



When startled it often dives on the instant, and emerging under floating weeds or rubbish, 

 just pokes its bill al)Ove the surface, so that the nostrils are uncovered liy the water, and 

 remains submerged until the danger is past, holding itself in the proper position by the grasp 

 of its strong toes upon the weeds. If wounded, it will often escape l)y diving, so tiiat unless 

 the sportsman lulls his birds on the spot he may lose bird aft«r bird unless he has agood dog 

 with him. Sometimes it pretends to be wounded, and drops into the shelter of reeds or 

 bushes in so death-like a manner that the gunner is deluded into the idea that he has killed 

 his bird very neatly, and while he is reloading away goes the Water Hen to some secure retreat. 



I once took a snap-shot from a boat at a fine male specimen, in a little pond at the end of 

 an inlet, and to ray astonishment, after backing to the mouth of the little stream, saw him 

 swimming and nodding his head as coolly as if nothing had hai^pened. I was going to give 

 him the se(5ond barrel, but, being short of ammunition, determined to paddle quietly up the 

 inlet in which the bird was swimming, and to knock it over with an oar. The bird took not 

 the least notice of the boat, so I pushed the blade of the oar under it, lifted it out of the 

 water, and brought it into the boat. On examination I found that it liad been struck through 

 the head with a shot ; I believe that in such cases the powers of volition are suddenly extin- 

 guished, and that the bird continues to act according to the last impression upon the brain. 

 Many birds, as every sportsman knows, will tower when shot, and I have found that in such 

 instances they exhiliit u singular tenacity of animal life. 



When free from persecution, the Water Hen soon becomes familiar with man, and will 

 mix famiUarly with domestic poultry, traversing the garden or farm-yard with easy confidence. 

 It is apt, however, to be rather mischievous, eating fruit and vegetables of various kinds. The 

 Reverend Mr. Atkinson writes: "The Moor Hens having been much encouraged, were very 

 numerous, both about the moat and in two or three flaggy ponds in the adjoining pastures. I 

 have seen as many as fourteen or fifteen at once upon one bed of cabbage plants. They picked 

 tlie peas, the strawberries, the currants, the gooseberries, all in early stages of their growth, 

 and they stripped the leaves of the newly -planted young cabbages and greens, until nothing 

 was left but ragged fragments of the midrib and stalks." 



The nesting of this bird is very i)eculiar. The Water Hen builds a large edifice of sedges, 

 sticks, and leaves, either on the bank close to the water's edge, upon little reedy islands, or 

 on low banks overhanging the water, and generally very conspicuous. The mother-bird has a 

 liabit of scraping leaves and rushes over her eggs when she leaves the nest, not, as some persons 

 fancy, to keep the eggs warm, but to hide them from the jurying eyes of crows and magpies, 

 jays, and other egg-devouring birds. 



The Moor Hen is by no means niggardly in her labor, but will build one or more extra 

 nests, or rather rafts, for the accommodation of her young brood ; and in some cases will, 

 without api^arent reason, discard the nest in which the eggs have been hatched, build a new 

 one, and transfer to it her little family. When thoroughly pleased with a locality the Moor 

 Hen evinces a strong attachment to it, and returns to tlie same spot through several successive 

 seasons. 



Should the water rise beyond its ordinary level, this bird is equal to the emergency, and 

 rapidly elevates the nest hj adding sticks and inserting them into the fabric. One bird 

 generally remains by the nest and acts as builder, while the other searches for materials and 

 brings them to its mate. Mr. Selby mentions an instance where the bird removed the eggs 

 during the process of elevation, and replaced them after the completion of its labors. 



The young are able to swim almost as soon as hatched, and for some time remain close to 

 their i^arents. I once, to my great regret, shot by mistake several young ]VIoor liens, still in their 

 first suit of black puffy down, and jjaddling about among the water lilies aTid other aquatic 

 herbage where I could not see them. Pike are rather apt to carry off the little creatures 

 by coming quickly under the weeds and jerldng them under water before they take the alarm. 



The male bird is dark olive-green above ; the head, neck, and under parts are blackish- 

 gray. The luider tail-coverts and edges of the wings are white. The bill is green towards 



